McClanahan v. Jones

471 S.W.2d 555, 63 Tenn. App. 301, 1971 Tenn. App. LEXIS 222
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 21, 1971
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 471 S.W.2d 555 (McClanahan v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McClanahan v. Jones, 471 S.W.2d 555, 63 Tenn. App. 301, 1971 Tenn. App. LEXIS 222 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

MATHERNE, Judge.

Alex McClanahan and wife, Ida Mae McClanahan, filed a claim against the estate of M. A. McClanahan for services rendered to M. A. McClanahan during his lifetime. The complainants averred they [556]*556provided daily food, clothing, care and other personal services at the request of M. A. McClanahan, with the understanding that M. A. McClanahan would make payment to them through his Last Will and Testament which he, M. A. McClanahan, failed to do.

The Chancellor heard the cause on oral testimony without a jury and gave judgment for the complainants in the amount of $5,500.00 as the value of services rendered by them for M. A. McClanahan for a period of time six years prior to the death of M. A. McClanahan.

Jean W. Jones, Administratrix of the estate of M. A. McClanahan, appeals to this Court on the ground the Chancellor erred in sustaining the claim of the complainants for services rendered her decedent.

The complainants appeal to this Court averring the Chancellor erred in limiting their recovery to the value of services rendered during that six-year period immediately preceding the death of M. A. Mc-Clanahan.

The facts establish the claimant, Alex McClanahan, is the nephew of M. A. Mc-Clanahan, deceased. The estate of M. A. McClanahan apparently has net assets in the amount of $18,192.85, which estate is apparently being administered in the Chancery Court of Hamblen County, Tennessee, under the style of Cause No. 8013, Will McClanahan, et al v. Lizzie McClanahan Hopkins, et al, in which cause the claim here involved was filed.

The facts further establish the claimant, Alex McClanahan, sometime during the year 1957, did find his uncle, M. A. Mc-Clanahan, rather seriously ill. Alex Mc-Clanahan took his uncle to the doctor, and daily tended to his needs, including food, care, medicine and personal attention. At that time Alex McClanahan lived in the Jaybird community of Hamblen County, which was some ten miles distant from the home of his uncle. Claimant and his wife both continued their care and attention to M. A. McClanahan. The record reveals the decedent had at that time other kin of equal degree but there is no showing of any concern or attention on the part of anyone but the two claimants.

In May, 1958, the claimants sold their home in the Jaybird community, purchased a trailer and had it located in the back yard of M. A. McClanahan. The claimants lived in this trailer about a year when they bought a lot from M. A. McClanahan about three hundred yards from the M. A. McClanahan residence and built a home there. The claimants testified the reason they moved from the Jaybird community as above related was to be near M. A. Mc-Clanahan and be better able to care for him.

The services rendered were daily cooking and delivering three meals, giving medicine, taking the decedent to the doctor, attending to his personal needs as they arose, doing his laundry, doing some farm work for him, and generally being available every day to attend to whatever might become necessary for the welfare of M. A. McClanahan.

M. A. McClanahan died on January 15, 1967. About seven weeks prior to death the decedent became seriously ill. The claimants moved him to their home and gave him their personal attention. They made repeated trips carrying the decedent to the doctor; they bought and gave him medicines as prescribed. About two weeks prior to death, the decedent was bedfast, unable to control bodily functions and required repeated changes of bed clothes each day. All these services were performed by the claimants until the decedent died in their home on the date above stated.

The claimants received no compensation for those services and by their sworn claim they aver an understanding with M. A. McClanahan whereby they would be provided payment therefor by his Last Will and Testament. The details of the understanding could not be related by the claimants under T.C.A. § 24-105, commonly [557]*557known as the Dead Man’s Statute. See: Watts v. Rayman (Tenn.App.1971) 462 S.W.2d 520, and cases cited therein.

The statute prevents a “party” to a suit by or against the representative of a decedent from testifying to a transaction with or statement by the decedent, but it does not prevent other witnesses from testifying to such transaction or statement. Poole v. First National Bank (1946) 29 Tenn.App. 327, 196 S.W.2d 563.

Witness, Hal Hale, former Justice of the Peace and County Judge of Hamblen County, testified he had known M. A. McClanahan for fifty years. This witness had assisted the decedent with his social security problems and the decedent had taken the witness somewhat into his confidence. Mr. Hale testified the decedent told him that he, the decedent, had to depend upon the two claimants since the death of his wife. This witness had been in the M. A. McClanahan home when the claimant, Ida Mae McClanahan, brought food for M. A. McClanahan. Mr. Hale further stated M. A. McClanahan told him that “Alex was to be taken care of”, and “that Alex taking care of him was to be— wanted him to have something for it, in other words.”

Witness, E. N. Peoples, testified he was 73 years of age and was a first cousin of M. A. McClanahan. On one occasion when he and M. A. McClanahan were standing in the cemetery of their church, M. A. McClanahan made essentially the following statement: “I have Alex over there that takes care of me. He’s my right hand man. I have to depend on him. I can’t do things like I once did, can’t take care of myself. He’s my right hand man. I expect him to take care of me and I expect to take care of him.”

The foregoing testimony constitutes material evidence upon which the trier of fact could find the decedent did request the claimants to care for him and he would compensate them therefor. That testimony, coupled with the overwhelming preponderance of the evidence that the claimants did in fact leave their home in the Jaybird community and did, from sometime in the year 1957 until the decedent died on January 15, 1967, care for and personally feed, clothe, administer medicine, and attend every need of M. A. McClanahan, constitutes sufficient evidence from which the trier of fact could find those services were rendered based upon an understanding between the parties that the claimants would be paid therefor, and the services were not gratuitously rendered for a blood kin. It is also significant blood kin of equal degree testified they lived within a mile or so of M. A. McClanahan, but none of them claim to have rendered any services to the decedent; all admitted the claimants did at least render some services.

We therefore affirm the Chancellor in his finding the claimants are entitled to compensation under the facts of this case, and the Administrator’s assignment of error is overruled.

The Chancellor limited the amount recoverable to a period of six years immediately preceding the death of M. A. Mc-Clanahan. For the seven weeks, or forty-nine days, the decedent was in the claimants’ home immediately prior to his death, the Chancellor allowed the claimants $20.00 per day or a total of $980.00. For the remaining 305 weeks, the Chancellor allowed claimants the sum of $15.00 per week, totaling $4,575.00.

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Bluebook (online)
471 S.W.2d 555, 63 Tenn. App. 301, 1971 Tenn. App. LEXIS 222, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclanahan-v-jones-tennctapp-1971.