O'Hagan v. Kracke

165 Misc. 4, 300 N.Y.S. 351, 1937 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1934
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 4, 1937
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 165 Misc. 4 (O'Hagan v. Kracke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
O'Hagan v. Kracke, 165 Misc. 4, 300 N.Y.S. 351, 1937 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1934 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1937).

Opinion

Zolleb, J.

The facts here are not disputed. They have been submitted by stipulation of counsel. In view of that stipulation, which is a clear and comprehensive recital of the facts, I deem it unnecessary to refer to them in detail herein. These stipulated and agreed facts, however, do present several questions of law, to aid in the disposition of which counsel for the respective parties hereto have argued orally before the court and have submitted memoranda in support of their arguments.

This is an equitable action for an accounting, and plaintiff, in his. amended complaint, demands judgment “ that defendants Kracke and Wason be directed to render to plaintiff a just and full account of the moneys so received and disbursed by the trustees of the said trust since the death of the said Mary E. Luckenbach, and that plaintiff have judgment against defendants Kracke and Wason, for any sum or balance found to be due from said defendants; and that defendant Lathan, and every person claiming through or under her be adjudged to have no claim or right to any estate right or interest in the trust fund herein described, and that they be forever barred from all such claims to an interest therein.”

The defendants Kracke and Wason have interposed separate answers to said amended complaint, which are substantially the same, and wherein they deny the allegations contained in the sixth paragraph thereof and certain allegations contained in the seventh paragraph thereof, which denials are more or less technical in nature and are of little importance here. These defendants also do allege and set forth in their answers four separate and complete defenses, namely: (1) That the trust agreement, or deed of trust, bearing date May 28, 1918, was revoked, in so far as it related to and provided for the plaintiff, by an instrument in writing bearing date November 23, 1921; (2) that plaintiff is estopped “to deny the right to the trustees to make the payments of income under said trust which it has already made and he is not entitled to an accounting therefor;” (3) that a judgment heretofore granted on or about the 27th day of October, 1927, in an action for an accounting by the trustees in the Supreme Court of Kings county, to which [7]*7this plaintiff was a party defendant, is res adjudícala as between the trustees of said trust and the plaintiff herein; and (4) that the plaintiff is not entitled to maintain this action because he has failed to restore a good and valuable consideration which he received for his consent to the revocation of said trust agreement.

Said two defendants also allege as a fifth separate and partial defense that said judgment of October 27, 1927, bars all claims for anything arising prior thereto and a further separate defense that the plaintiff has been guilty of gross laches and is not entitled to an accounting.

Defendant Wason also alleges as a partial defense that he is not accountable as a trustee for the conduct of said trust prior to January 8, 1931, when he became a successor to John E. Stillwell, one of the trustees originally named in said trust agreement.

These two defendants also have alleged in their respective answers substantially similar counterclaims, wherein they say that the plaintiff herein, in disregard of his consent to the revocation of said trust and of the adjudication of the validity and effect of said instrument of November 23, 1921, asserts and continues to assert in this action that he is the income beneficiary under said Trust and has, therefore, created an uncertainty as to the rights and duties of the Trustees under said Trust, and challenges the Trustees to proceed in the administration of said Trust at their peril.”

They demand judgment that plaintiff’s complaint be dismissed and that a declaratory judgment be granted, which shall determine whether the prior adjudication referred to in paragraph ‘ 11 ’ of this Answer is binding upon the plaintiff as to the validity and legal effect of the instrument of November 23, 1921, referred to in paragraph ‘ 4 ’ hereof, and the extent to which the same is binding upon the plaintiff; and, if not, but only in that case, then that this Court then determine the rights of the parties, and in particular the validity and legal effect of said instrument of November 23, 1921.” Plaintiff duly replied to these counterclaims.

The answer of the defendant Lathan contains allegations and defenses and a counterclaim similar to those set forth in the answers of the two defendants Kracke and Wason, and she demands practically the same judgment as demanded by them.

It appears that after issue was joined, and some time in January of this year, plaintiff moved for a judgment on the pleadings, which motion was heard by Mr. Justice Witschief, who denied the motion and rendered the following opinion: “ A modification of a trust instrument may amount to a revocation of the trust, at least in part, as the agreement of 1921 did in this case. There is no [8]*8reason for any narrow construction of section 23 of the Personal Property Law. Nor must the revocation affect the corpus. A revocation may affect any substantial provision of the trust and still be a revocation even though it be referred to as a modification. The plaintiff’s right to the relief sought is far from being so clear as to entitle him to judgment on the pleadings. Motion denied, without costs.”

It further appears that no appeal was taken by plaintiff from the order entered thereon, and that plaintiff’s time to appeal therefrom has expired.

Upon the final submission of the case, counsel for plaintiff moved to dismiss all the defenses and all the counterclaims of all of the defendants, except the defense of the defendant Wason that he is not accountable as a trustee for the conduct of the trust prior to the time he became a successor trustee on or about January 8, 1931, and counsel for the several defendants moved that the complaint be dismissed upon the merits and for judgment for the defendants in all respects as demanded, and that in any event plaintiff should not have any judgment against the trustees, or any of them, for any income paid after the death of Mrs. Luckenbach to and including the date of the demand herein, which was made in May, 1936. Counsel agreed that under no circumstances should the defendant Wason be held accountable for the conduct of the trust prior to January 8, 1931, when he became a trustee thereof.

Quite obviously, the problem here presents several separate and distinct phases, and a determination at the outset of some of these phases, it seems to me, may be made independently of all others and without regard to their disposition. In the first place, concededly the defendant Wason should not be held liable to the plaintiff for any accounting as a trustee prior to his appointment and qualification as such trustee on January 8, 1931. I am so deciding and holding.

Furthermore, it seems to me that plaintiff is not entitled to an accounting from any defendant prior to the service of his demand therefor on or about May 6, 1936. The record shows that plaintiff signed and executed in the presence of a witness, on November 23, 1921, the following instrument under seal:

“ I, J. Dennis O’Hagan, in consideration of One Dollar and other good and valuable consideration to me in hand paid by Mary E. Luckenbaeh, the creator of the Trust above described, and in consideration of the like amount to me in hand paid by each of the Trustees under said Trust, the receipts whereof are hereby [9]

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Bluebook (online)
165 Misc. 4, 300 N.Y.S. 351, 1937 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1934, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohagan-v-kracke-nysupct-1937.