Kelly v. Kelly

229 N.W.2d 526, 304 Minn. 237, 1975 Minn. LEXIS 1414
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedMay 23, 1975
Docket45094
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 229 N.W.2d 526 (Kelly v. Kelly) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kelly v. Kelly, 229 N.W.2d 526, 304 Minn. 237, 1975 Minn. LEXIS 1414 (Mich. 1975).

Opinion

Scott, Justice.

Plaintiff appeals from a summary judgment of the Hennepin County District Court entered pursuant to an order granting defendant’s motion therefor upon the bases that there exist no possible material questions of fact and that maintenance of the action would constitute a collateral attack upon an order of the Renville County Probate Court dated April 12, 1939. We affirm.

The farm in dispute was owned by Thorval Kelly, his brother, Milton Kelly, and their mother, Rangnild Kelly, as tenants in common, each owning an undivided one-third interest. On January 19, 1922, the three executed a mortgage on this real estate to Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company which mortgage was recorded on February 2, 1922. Upon default, the mortgage was foreclosed, and on April 18, 1936, the mortgaged premises were sold to the mortgagee for $23,616.37. A petition filed by Milton Kelly in the Renville County District Court on March 16, 1937, resulted in an extension of the statutory redemption period until March 1939.

Milton Kelly was duly appointed guardian of Thorval Kelly, an incompetent, on December 16, 1937. On February 28, 1939, Milton Kelly, acting for himself and the other two owners of the land, commenced proceedings in district court to obtain another extension of the redemption period. On March 25, 1939, Milton Kelly petitioned the Renville County probate court for an order authorizing him as guardian to execute a petition for dismissal of the action to extend the redemption period; to allow title to *239 vest in the mortgagee; and to allow Milton Kelly individually to buy the land from the mortgagee for $1,353.19 less than the mortgagee’s investment in the land. Included in the petition were allegations that during the first extension of the redemption period Milton Kelly had had sole charge of the land and sole responsibility for satisfying all mortgage obligations and that, since the mortgagee was willing to sell the land to Milton Kelly for less than the amount of its actual investment, there was no equity of redemption. The petition was granted on March 31, 1939, with the court finding that the termination of the redemption period would not prejudice the guardianship estate.

An amended petition was filed by Milton Kelly on April 7, 1939, stating further that the ward had no assets to enable him to make redemption of the property; that Milton Kelly had devoted his individual efforts and resouces to the operation of the farm; and that any person designated by the court might be called as a witness to verify that the land was not worth the amount required to redeem it from the foreclosure sale. The court, in its amended order dated April 12, 1939, specifically found that Milton Kelly had devoted his own efforts and resources to the operation of the farm without assistance from others; that there was no equity of redemption in the premises; that the ward had no interest in the premises; that the ward’s estate could not bear any portion of the burden of redemption; that securing a further extension of the redemption period would be of no possible benefit to the estate; and that if Milton Kelly should repurchase, it would be with the understanding that the ward would have no interest in the real estate.

Upon the death of Rangnild Kelly on December 12, 1945, her son Edward Kelly (father of appellant guardian Kenneth Kelly) commenced an action seeking, as relief, that he and all other heirs of Rangnild be found to be owners of an interest in the real estate on the basis that Milton’s sole interest was acquired by his exercise of undue influence upon Rangnild. On December 13, 1949, the district court sustained a demurrer to the complaint, *240 and a full release was subsequently executed by Edward Kelly, for himself and his heirs, to Milton Kelly.

Milton Kelly remained guardian of Thorval Kelly until the former’s death on 1 May 15, 1969. Kenneth Kelly was then appointed the guardian for Thorval in August 1969. It was after this appointment that Kenneth allegedly first learned that Thorval had no interest in the farm and that it was owned by Milton and his wife Gertrude.

On October 31,1969, Kenneth Kelly filed objections in Renville County probate court, to the allowance of the final accounting of the previous guardian. When the probate court allowed the final accounting in its order dated July 8, 1970, the matter was appealed to the Renville County District Court by Kenneth1 on August 4, 1970. The matter was continued pending the determination of the subsequent action commenced on May 4,1971, by Kenneth Kelly in' Hennepin County District Court for an adjudication that Thorval Kelly owns an interest in the land purchased by Milton from the mortgagee and for damages and an accounting- (the instant action).

The appellant contends that Milton Kelly and his widow, Gertrude Kelly, are liable to Thorval Kelly for damages and an accounting, in that Milton fraudulently purchased the property owned by his ward. The district court found, in addition to the fact that such an action would constitute a collateral attack upon the Renville County probate court order of April 12, 1939, and that there existed no possible material question of fact, that there was no evidence that the statements by Milton Kelly in his 1939 petition were other than true, and that there was no evidence that the facts averred therein were misrepresentations.

The issues presented can be stated as follows:

(1) Is the instant action a collateral attack upon the Renville County probate court order of April 12, 1939 ?
(2) Is there any genuine issue of material fact so as to preclude the granting of the motion for summary judgment?
(3) Is this action barred by the statute of limitations?

*241 Of prime importance upon this appeal is the determination of whether the instant action constitutes a collateral attack upon the Renville County probate court order of April 12, 1939. The appellant’s sole contention arises under Minn. St. 1971, § 525.35, 1 which states in part, in speaking of a representative:

“* * * He shall not purchase any claim against the estate nor shall he purchase directly or indirectly or be interested in the purchase of any property sold by him.”

The present guardian feels that Milton’s purchase of the farm after expiration of the redemption period is fraud as a matter of law and speaks for itself without any further allegations in his claim or any need to show further facts of fraud. As the trial court pointed out, the Renville County probate court order of April 12, 1939, clearly authorized Milton Kelly as guardian to wholly abandon the interest of the ward in said real estate.

The appellant here does not challenge the jurisdiction of the probate court. Rather, the pleadings are framed in' terms of the fraud and misrepresentations made by Milton Kelly in connection with the foreclosure sale and subsequent purchase by Milton of land which was, at one time, an integral part of his ward’s estate.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
229 N.W.2d 526, 304 Minn. 237, 1975 Minn. LEXIS 1414, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelly-v-kelly-minn-1975.