Ramm v. Estate of Ramm

314 S.W.2d 847, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2099
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 11, 1958
DocketNo. 10567
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 314 S.W.2d 847 (Ramm v. Estate of Ramm) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ramm v. Estate of Ramm, 314 S.W.2d 847, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2099 (Tex. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

GRAY, Justice.

Appellants, Anna Ramm and Henry Ramm, sued appellees, Adele Ramm and Elton Konecek, to recover property, or its equivalent in damages, belonging to the estate of Joe Ramm, Deceased. They alleged that during his lifetime Joe agreed with Anna that if she would make a will leaving her property to him and Henry Ramm that he (Joe) would make a will leaving his property to her and Henry; that Anna accepted Joe’s proposal; that the proposed wills were made, and that Joe breached the agreement by making a subsequent will leaving his property to appel-lees.

Appellants are sister and brother respectively of Joe Ramm, Deceased. Ap-pellee, Adele Ramm is the surviving wife of a deceased brother, Emil Ramm, and appellee Elton Konecek is a nephew of Adele Ramm but is not related to the other parties to this suit.

Anna and • Joe were each unmarried. For many years Anna had lived and worked in the home of Mr. and Mrs. D. C. Hillboldt. Joe had lived with Emil on the “Old Ramm Homestead” which they farmed until Emil’s death. Thereafter Joe continued to reside on the farm but it appears that he was in failing health. It further appears that Joe, Anna and Henry were the only survivors of their immediate family; that they were very friendly to each other; that Joe and Henry resided near the Hillboldts and that they all often visited together in that home. In fact Joe stayed there for several weeks while he was under the care of a doctor. Henry Ramm was married and had a family.

Appellants alleged that on January 4, 1955, Joe came to see Anna at the Hill-boldt home and proposed that he would make a will leaving his property to her and Henry if she would make a will leaving her property to him and Henry; that Anna agreed to the proposal, and that thereupon they each made a will in keeping with the agreement. There was attached to the petition as exhibits and later introduced in evidence the following instruments :

“Jan 4, 1955
“I, Joe Ramm wish to will all my property to my brother Henry and sister Anna Ramm
/s/ Joe Ramm
“Witnesses:
Mrs. D. C. Hillboldt
Mrs. Chas. Koy
“I, Anna Ramm wish to will all my property to my 2 brothers Henry and Joe Ramm
Anna Ramm
“Witnesses:
Mrs. D. C. Hillboldt
Mrs. Chas. Koy”

Joe Ramm died July 6, 1956, and left a will dated February 24, 1956, whereby he left his property to Adele Ramm. This will was filed for probate and Adele Ramm had taken charge of Joe’s property claiming the same as her own under the terms [849]*849of the will. She also claimed livestock on the farm as her own independently of the will. Prior to his death but after January 4, 1955, Joe gave Elton Konecek two checks amounting to $2,000.

Four special issues were submitted to a jury. We quote issue one and the jury’s answer thereto:

“Do you find from a preponderance of the evidence that on or about January 4, 1955, Joe Ramm proposed to Plaintiff, Anna Ramm, that he would make a will under the terms of which he would give unto her and their brother, Henry Ramm, all of his property, which he owned and possessed, if she would make a will to him and their brother, Henry Ramm, of all of her property?
“Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as you find the facts to be.
“Answer: No.”

The jury was instructed to answer issue two only if issue one was answered “yes.” It asked if Anna accepted Joe’s proposal and was not answered. Issue three asked if during his lifetime Joe made a gift of $2,000 to Elton Konecek. The jury answered “Yes.”

Following an instruction to answer issue four only if issue three was answered “No,” the jury was asked to find the reasonable value of the services, if any, rendered by Elton Konecek to Joe Ramm during his lifetime. The issue was not answered.

A judgment denying appellants any recovery was rendered on the above jury findings.

Appellants here complain that the trial court erred: in submitting issue one because there was no evidence to justify its submission since the evidence shows that Joe and Anna made the alleged agreement and that appellants were entitled to an instructed verdict, and in submitting issue three because:

“Joe Ramm was not authorized to give any of his property away since it became impressed with a trust at the time he made and entered into the agreement with Anna for his benefit and Henry’s, as well as for Anna’s and Henry Ramm’s benefit.”

Appellants further say: that they are entitled to a new trial because all the evidence shows that the agreement sued on was made, and that the trial court erred in overruling their motion for judgment non obstante veredicto.

We will first direct our attention to issue one and the jury’s answer thereto. In doing so we must consider only the evidence tending to support the jury’s answer and disregard the evidence that is contrary thereto. Eaton v. Husted, 141 Tex. 349, 172 S.W.2d 493, citing Briscoe v. Bright’s Adm’r, Tex.Com.App., 231 S.W. 1082, a contract case.

At about 9 or 10 o’clock on the morning of January 4, 1955, Henry Ramm, his son Otto and Joe Ramm came in Henry’s car to the Hillboldt residence where Anna Ramm was, and for some thirty years had been, living as an employee of the Hill-boldts. At that time there was present at the residence: Mr. and Mrs. Hillboldt, Anna Ramm and Mrs. Charles Koy who was then doing the housework. These parties were all well acquainted and friendly with each other. The parties had lunch together and remained at the Hillboldt residence until about 3 o’clock in the afternoon when they all went to Sealy, Texas, which was a town nearby. Joe, Henry and Otto went in Henry’s car and the other parties went in Mrs. Hillboldt’s car.

We do not attach any particular importance to the visit to the Hillboldt home above mentioned for the reason that the evidence shows such visits were common occurrences. Otto Ramm testified that he had never before seen the two instruments above set out and did not specifically re[850]*850call being at the Hillboldt home January 4, 1955, he said: “We have been there so often.”

During the time that the parties were at the Hillboldt home on January 4, 1955, Joe and Anna executed the instruments, supra.

With reference to the above instruments D. C. Hillboldt was asked and testified:

“Q. Now you referred to they telling you, did you mean by that Joe Ramm and Anna Ramm? A. They told me what they wanted done.
“Mr. Allen: I am not sure who they are yet.
“The Court: He just stated who they were.
“A. Joe Ramm and his sister, Anna, that stays with us. You want me to go ahead and tell what happened?
“Q. I want you to tell whatever they told you and you heard them say in the presence of each other to you. A.

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Bluebook (online)
314 S.W.2d 847, 1958 Tex. App. LEXIS 2099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramm-v-estate-of-ramm-texapp-1958.