McIver v. Faulk

397 P.2d 270, 1964 Wyo. LEXIS 131
Wyoming Supreme Court·Decided December 8, 1964·No. No. 3248·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Mr. Justice HARNSBERGER

delivered the opinion of the court.

On May 24, 1962, claiming that they were the owners and entitled to the possession of certain real estate in the City of Cheyenne, Wyoming, the plaintiffs brought action against defendants Minnie E. Mclver, and Ruthanna Hankin as guardian of the person and estate of Minnie E. Mclver, an incompetent person, to obtain from them possession of the property. The defendants denied plaintiffs had any interest in the property, alleging that defendant Minnie E. Mclver was the owner of the same; that a warranty deed dated July 29, 1960, conveying the property from Minnie E. Mclver to plaintiffs was invalid and void because of fraud and undue influence exerted by plaintiffs. Defendants also counterclaimed that plaintiffs defrauded Minnie E. Mclver of approximately $24,000. The plaintiffs generally denied the allegations of the counterclaim. At the beginning of the trial which was held on September 30, 1963, counsel for plaintiffs moved to dismiss Ruthanna Hankin as guardian of the estate of Minnie E. Mclver on the ground that there was no legal guardianship. The court granted the motion, and an exception thereto was taken by counsel for the defendants. Under these circumstances and upon trial to the court, judgment was entered in favor of plaintiffs and against the defendant Mclver, and the court decreed the title to the real estate was vested in plaintiffs, free and clear of all claims by the defendant Minnie E. Mclver; that plaintiffs have and recover possession of the real estate; and that the defendant Minnie E. Mclver take nothing by reason of her counterclaim against the plaintiffs.

Defendant Mclver appeals.

[271]*271The record is devoid of any evidence showing there was ever a guardianship “established for Mrs. Mclver in the District Court on August IS, 1961.” However, appellant in her brief states “Although it was of no effect at the time of this lawsuit, because of recent developments in Wyoming law, a Guardianship was established for Mrs. Mclver in the District Court on August IS, 1961.” From this it would seem that defendants have conceded that Minnie E. Mclver has never been legally declared to be incompetent and that a legal guardianship never existed. Furthermore, Ruthanna Hankin as guardian of the person and estate of Minnie E. Mclver, an incompetent person, does not appear to have taken any appeal from the district court’s judgment dismissing her from the case, and for purposes of this appeal it will be considered that defendant Minnie E. Mclver has not ever been judicially declared incompetent, and a guardian of her person and estate has never been appointed.

The facts are briefly these. When she was of the age of 78 years, Mrs. Mclver, who had theretofore been actively engaged in business affairs, was visited in Cheyenne by plaintiffs who are respectively her sister, Christine N. Faulk, and her niece, Evelyn Faulk Earle, when within a few hours they were notified of the accidental death of the brother of Christine N. Faulk and Minnie E. Mclver. Consequently, plaintiffs remained with Mrs. Mclver over July 29, for the burial of the deceased. Following the burial Mrs. Mclver executed a warranty deed to plaintiffs, conveying the real estate for which plaintiffs sought quiet title. Evidently the deed to Christine N. Faulk and Evelyn Faulk Earle was prepared by one Carl Johnson, kept in the possession of Mrs. Mclver until she signed, acknowledged, and executed it in the presence of a notary public, her sister Christine, her niece Evelyn, and Mr. Johnson, following which she gave the deed to her niece Evelyn, who in turn gave it to her mother Christine, who then left it with Carl Johnson, who, approximately a year later, upon the instruction of Mrs. Faulk, filed it of record.

Upon trial of the case, the defendant Minnie E. Mclver herself did not appear personally and she did not testify by deposition.

In order to have a clear understanding of the relationships and interests of the parties involved, as well as some of those who testified, it might be well to note that Ruth-anna Hankin who testified as a defense witness is a granddaughter of Minnie E. Mclver; that Ethel Jones, also a defense witness, is a daughter-in-law of Minnie E. Mclver; that Phillis Patterson, another defense witness who lives in California, is an adopted daughter of Minnie E. Mclver; and that Hilda Nelson, a sister of Minnie E. Mclver, had been married to the father, now deceased, of Carl Johnson.

A composite of the testimony of witnesses called by defense counsel was to the effect that commencing sometime in January 1960, Minnie E. Mclver showed some sign of failing health and mentality; that before such failure Carl Johnson began making income tax returns and performing other financial services for Mrs. Mclver. While there is a complete absence of evidence showing any importunity or effort by the plaintiffs to induce Mrs. Mclver to make the criticized deed, appellant maintains Carl Johnson exercised undue influence upon defendant and induced Mrs. Mclver to make the criticized transfer of property to her sister and niece. Also, some of the defense testimony suggests Carl Johnson received compensation from plaintiffs for influencing the defendant to make the deed. On the other hand, testimony of several of defendant’s own witnesses, as well as that of plaintiffs, tends to show Mrs. Mclver was fully competent at the time of the execution of the questioned deed and that she was not under anyone’s influence, especially not that of Carl Johnson.

Briefly, the evidence from defense’s own witnesses indicating Mrs. Mclver’s competency as well as her freedom from Johnson’s influence is in part as follows: Mrs. [272]*272Mclver did not like Carl Johnson; she ignored him; she was firm with him; she “told him off”; she “stood up to him”; she would not talk to him and ordered him to leave; in April of 1960, immediately prior to the execution and delivery of the challenged deed dated July 29, 1960, Mrs. Mc-lver and the purchaser were alone when she negotiated the sale of her ranch property for $40,000 which price, the defense witness stated, was the highest price paid in that area as of that date, and Mrs. Mclver was not cheated by the sale; Mrs. Mclver knew what she was doing in April 1960, and on May 4, 1960; Mrs. Mclver was able to care for her property and eject a tenant for nonpayment of rent in September 1960; Mrs. Mclver, in January 1961, opened an account at Cheyenne Federal in the name of herself and Phillis Patterson, her adopted daughter, and the aunt by adoption of the testifying witness, and the defendant was not influenced by Phillis Patterson; Mrs. Mclver opened a bank account in the name of herself and Ruthanna .Hankin, her granddaughter, the testifying witness, on April 21, 1960, no suggestion of Mrs. Mc-Iver’s incompetency being then made; in July 1961, the witness accepted a deed for real estate from Mrs. Mclver which was made without any consideration and the same was acknowledged before one of Mrs. Mclver’s counsel acting as a notary public, and at the time the witness failed to advise this counsel that Mrs. Mclver was forgetful and did not know, about her property; and the same witness, Ruthanna Hankin, and her husband accepted property from Mrs. Mclver, sold it, and have kept the proceeds.

A résumé of the defendant’s financial transactions as exhibited by the record shows that on July 1, 1961, Mrs. Mclver’s sister, Christine Faulk, ultimately received $10,000 which Mrs. Mclver herself had received as the survivor of a joint account with Bernard Nelson, a brother of both Mrs.

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McIver v. Faulk
397 P.2d 270 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 1964)