May v. Copeland

947 N.E.2d 1239, 192 Ohio App. 3d 1
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 28, 2010
DocketNo. 09 CA 000035
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 947 N.E.2d 1239 (May v. Copeland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
May v. Copeland, 947 N.E.2d 1239, 192 Ohio App. 3d 1 (Ohio Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Edwards, Presiding Judge.

{¶ 1} Plaintiff-appellant, Martha Blanche May, trustee of the Henry Paul Snider and Aleita Rae “Sandy” Snider Trust dated December 15, 1978, as amended October 31, 1990, appeals from the September 2, 2009 journal entry of the Knox County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division. Defendant-appellee Patricia Snider has filed a cross-appeal.

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND CASE

{¶ 2} On December 15, 1978, the Henry Paul Snider and Aleita Ray “Sandy” Snider Trust was created. The trust was created for the benefit of the grantors’ then minor children, Cynthia Snider, appellee Patricia Snider, and Linda Snider. [3]*3Appellant, who was Henry Paul Snider’s daughter from a former marriage, was named trustee.

{¶ 3} The original trust agreement was amended in 1990. Henry Paul Snider died in 1991. The trust, as amended, provided that it would terminate upon the youngest beneficiary reaching the age of 30, at which time, in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, appellant, as trustee, or her successor, would sell the trust assets and distribute the proceeds equally among the beneficiaries. Appellant, as trustee, was to be paid 5 percent of the amount of any sale proceeds when the trust assets were sold. Appellant, as trustee, was also to receive 5 percent of the gross income of the trust for her services.

{¶ 4} In the 1990s, Cynthia Snider sued appellant for breach of trust. The lawsuit was settled by the creation of a separate trust for Cynthia that is not at issue in this case.

{¶ 5} The trust was amended in January 1997 to state as follows:

{¶ 6} “Upon the termination of the Trust in accordance with the provisions thereof, the Trustee shall distribute the assets of the Trust to the beneficiaries as provided by the terms of the Trust. With the consent of the beneficiaries, in lieu of selling all of the assets of the Trust for purposes of distributing the same upon the youngest of the beneficiaries reaching thirty (30) years of age, the Trustee may distribute the assets of the Trust in-kind. In such event, absent an agreement between the Trustee and the beneficiaries as to the value of the assets of the Trust, the assets shall be appraised and a commission in an amount equal to five (5%) of the net value of the assets of the Trust shall be paid to the Trustee in lieu of the commission which would have been received by the Trustee upon the sell of said assets.”

{¶ 7} Thus, after January 17, 1997, the trust had only two beneficiaries, appellee and Linda Snider Copeland, appellee’s younger sister.

{¶ 8} After Linda turned 30 on February 5, 2002, the provisions of the trust relating to its termination were triggered. Prior to that time, appellant, as trustee, had commissioned appraisals of the real property owned by the trust and also had written trust checks to herself in the total amount of $95,500. That figure represented 5 percent of the value of the appraisals. Appellant, in order to pay herself the $95,500 in commissions, had the trust borrow $130,000.

{¶ 9} After the trust beneficiaries were unable to reach an agreement about the division of the trust assets, appellant, as trustee, on August 12, 2002, filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and other relief in the Knox County Court of Common Pleas, Probate Division. Appellant, in her complaint, indicated that a dispute had arisen about how much each of the trust beneficiaries was entitled to receive from the remaining trust assets and also that a dispute had arisen as to [4]*4the remaining balance due to appellant as compensation for her services to the trust. Appellant asked the court to “determine the documents governing the Trust and the construction thereof; and the relative rights and responsibilities of the parties thereunder * *

{¶ 10} On September 3, 2002, Linda filed an answer agreeing to all of the allegations in the complaint, with the exception of one allegation of which she had no knowledge. On September 13, 2002, appellee filed an answer and a counterclaim. Appellee, in her counterclaim, alleged that appellant had failed in her fiduciary obligation to provide a proper accounting to the beneficiaries. Appellee demanded an accounting. Appellee also alleged that appellant had exceeded her authority as trustee and had used trust assets for her own personal use.

{¶ 11} Pursuant to an entry filed on December 14, 2005, the trial court appointed Richard T. Taps as commissioner to replace appellant. The trial court ordered appellant to turn over all financial records relating to the trust to Taps. The trial court, in its entry, also ordered Taps to sell all assets and to file an accounting no later than September 30, 2006.

{¶ 12} Pursuant to a journal entry filed on March 9, 2007, First Knox National Bank was substituted as a party, replacing Linda Snider Copeland, beneficiary.

{¶ 13} On November 9, 2007, Taps filed an application for fees and expenses, seeking $72,594 in fees and $1,778.91 as costs. As memorialized in a journal entry filed on December 18, 2007, the trial court ordered that amount to be paid from the trust assets.

{¶ 14} Thereafter, as memorialized in an agreed entry filed on December 19, 2007, First Knox National Bank waived any claim to half the amount owing by appellant to the trust and consented to payment in full by the trust. For that reason, appellee was then the sole defendant in the proceeding.

{¶ 15} Because, under the direction of the commissioner, the trust’s assets were liquidated and distributed, the matter then proceeded to an evidentiary hearing before the trial court on appellant’s request for fees and on appellee’s counterclaim. The trial court, via a journal entry filed on September 2, 2009, held that appellant should be paid $24,236.53 by the trust for her annual compensation for the years 2002 through 2005. This figure represented 5 percent of the gross income of the trust. The trial court indicated that while appellant’s performance as trustee was less than perfect, it did not believe that she should be denied that amount. The trial court also held that there was no authority in the trust documents justifying appellant’s payment of $95,500 in commissions to herself based upon the appraisals that she had commissioned. The trial court noted that appellant did not distribute any trust assets in kind and did not liquidate any assets. It held, “There is simply no authority to compensate [5]*5a fiduciary for work they did not do.” The trial court also noted that a substantial fee had been paid to the commissioner who liquidated the trust assets. The trial court also held that because of the waiver filed by Linda, appellant was entitled to keep one half of the “unauthorized fee she paid herself.”

{¶ 16} The trial court, in its journal entry, stated as follows: “The total expense to the Trust to borrow this $130,000.00 was $52,922.42 (Exhibit 139). The unauthorized termination commission of $95,500.00 was 74% of the total loan. 74% of the total loan expense is $39,162.59. The Beneficiary is entitled to one half of this amount of $19,581.00.”

{¶ 17} In its journal entry, the trial court found that appellant had failed to account for some of her expenditures, had paid herself an unauthorized termination-commission fee, and had breached some of her fiduciary duties. It awarded appellee $77,558 in damages.

{¶ 18} Finally, the trial court also denied appellee’s request for punitive damages and attorney fees.

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Bluebook (online)
947 N.E.2d 1239, 192 Ohio App. 3d 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/may-v-copeland-ohioctapp-2010.