Kight v. Miller

94 N.E.3d 60, 2017 Ohio 5714
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Seventh District, Mahoning County
DecidedJune 14, 2017
DocketNO. 16 MA 0079
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 94 N.E.3d 60 (Kight v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Seventh District, Mahoning County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kight v. Miller, 94 N.E.3d 60, 2017 Ohio 5714 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2017).

Opinion

JUDGES: Hon. Carol Ann Robb, Hon. Gene Donofrio, Hon. Mary DeGenaro

OPINION

ROBB, P.J.

*62{¶ 1} Plaintiff-Appellant Debra S. Kight appeals the decision of the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants-Appellees Wilbur Miller and David Wheeler in a suit seeking to void a deed based on allegations of fraud and/or mistake. Appellant alleges the court improperly evaluated the credibility of her affidavit. She contends there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether she intended to sign the documents or whether there was fraud in the execution. She also states there is an issue regarding consideration for the deed, urging there is a dispute as to whether there was ever an underlying personal loan. Due to factual disputes, the trial court's judgment is reversed.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

{¶ 2} Kight owned realty at 468 W. Midlothian Boulevard in Youngstown. On April 16, 2015, she and Miller signed a release from indebtedness, wherein Miller agreed to release her from a loan secured by her house as collateral if she provided him the deed to her house. On April 17, 2015, Kight signed a warranty deed transferring this property to Appellees, who are domestic partners. The deed listed the consideration paid by the grantees as $15,328.75 (corresponding to the amount in the release said to be due on the loan, plus interest and late fees). The deed was recorded on April 20, 2015. Miller filed a forcible entry and detainer action against Kight in the Youngstown Municipal Court on October 27, 2015. That case was stayed after Kight filed her December 10, 2015 complaint against Appellees in the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. (She filed an amended complaint with leave of court on March 23, 2016 due to the mistaken use of Wheeler's name instead of Miller's name in certain sentences.)

{¶ 3} Kight's complaint sought quiet title to the property and urged the deed was void ab initio. She alleged fraud and unilateral mistake in signing the documents. The complaint alleged: Miller asked if she was interested in obtaining grant money and assistance from a trust in order to make repairs to her home; she replied she was interested; in mid-April 2015, paperwork was brought to her house in order to access grant money for her home; she read through the grant and trust papers; Miller told her the papers needed to be signed in front of a notary; he put the papers in an envelope and took her to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV); he dropped her off at the door and parked the car; he pulled the signature pages out of the envelope at the BMV; she signed the documents in front of the notary without re-reading them, relying on the fact she had just read them at her house and trusting Miller was presenting the same documents for her signature; and she signed the documents under the belief they would allow her to access grant monies. The complaint said sixty-three-year-old Kight did not intend to sign a personal loan (with payments that were 63% of her monthly income from Social Security Disability) and she did not intend to use her home as collateral for home repairs.

{¶ 4} Instead of filing an answer, pro se Appellees filed a motion for summary judgment on December 18, 2015 and an amended motion for summary judgment on December 21, 2015. Appellees emphasized how both pages of the deed, drafted by Miller, were clearly captioned with "WARRANTY DEED" and Kight initialed the first page and signed the second page. (Motion Ex. A). Appellees attached a December 15, 2015 affidavit from the notary who acknowledged Kight's signature on *63the deed; her affidavit said both pages of the deed were signed/initialed in her presence. (Motion Ex. B). Appellees also attached a BMV receipt issued by this notary on April 17, 2015 showing the payment of a notary fee. (Motion Ex. F).

{¶ 5} Appellees pointed to the release from indebtedness, a five-page document drafted by Miller and signed by Miller and Kight on April 16, 2015 in front of a different notary. (Motion Ex. C). Kight signed the fifth-page on a signature line pre-labeled with her name and then the word "Debtor." Appellees submitted a December 16, 2015 affidavit of this notary attesting the parties appeared before him with identification to sign and acknowledge the information on the release. (Motion Ex. D). They also submitted a BMV receipt showing two notary fees were paid to this notary on April 16, 2015. (Motion Ex. E).

{¶ 6} The April 16, 2015 release from indebtedness stated Miller lent Kight $13,500 on January 12, 2014 when she executed a personal loan installment contract. The release said the loan agreement contained the following terms: the loan was to be repaid, beginning March 3, 2014, in 36 installments of $470 per month, which included principal and interest at a rate of 8.5% per annum; a late fee of $35 was to be charged for payments made after the eighteenth of the month; default would occur after three unpaid payments; upon default, Miller could foreclose on the described realty as the personal loan was issued with a "proviso" that it was secured by the realty; and Kight pledged the realty as collateral for the personal loan.

{¶ 7} The release also said a loan modification was entered soon after the first payment was due, whereby Miller agreed to delay collection based upon Kight's assurance she would receive a settlement on April 3, 2015 and would then pay him principal, interest of $1,338.75, and late fees (for fourteen months) in the amount of $490, for a total sum of $15,328.75. The release set forth the following: Miller demanded payment from Kight on April 8, 2015; Kight admitted she falsely represented she would be receiving a settlement; Kight said she could not repay the loan; she offered a deed in lieu of foreclosure; and Miller agreed to have the release of her indebtedness notarized in exchange for the deed to her property. The release said Kight would vacate the residence by May 1, 2015. It also outlined personal property Kight sold to Miller upon his April 10, 2015 tender of $1,650.

{¶ 8} In arguing for summary judgment, Appellees pointed out the documents do not denote any affiliation with a grant or trust program. They urged common logic shows Kight knew what she was signing. They pointed to the two separate BMV visits to sign the release and then the deed. Appellees attached the affidavit of Wheeler's mother as to how she knew Kight and the affidavit of Miller's friend who said she heard a detective accuse Miller of forging the deed. A statement of Wheeler's father was not an affidavit as it was not notarized; it did not contain support for the main positions in any event. (Motion Ex. L-N).

{¶ 9} Appellees' pro se motion made various factual allegations, but the motion was not accompanied by their own affidavits to support their main allegations. The motion factually claimed: they had no discussion with Kight about a grant or assistance with home improvement; they did not advise Kight the deed or release related to a grant or trust; Kight misled Miller into believing her income was $3,000 per month; Kight only ceased driving because her boyfriend caused her car to be impounded; Kight was fully aware of the material facts in the documents; and her *64behavior became bizarre sometime after the deed was recorded.

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Bluebook (online)
94 N.E.3d 60, 2017 Ohio 5714, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kight-v-miller-ohctapp7mahonin-2017.