Richardson v. Richardson

250 N.W. 897, 217 Iowa 127
Supreme Court of Iowa·Decided November 14, 1933·No. No. 41873.·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinion

Kintzinger, J.

The parties hereto are husband and wife, both residing in Sioux City, Iowa. The defendant was 73 years of *128 age and the plaintiff 66 at the time of the trial. They lived together as husband and wife for a great number of years.

Defendant’s father was a pioneer resident of Sioux City and died in 1902 survived by his widow, who died a few years later, and five children: Leslie T. Richardson, the defendant herein, Alice O. Richardson, Gratia R. Catón, Mrs. Manley, and Mrs. Gertrude Patterson. His father’s estate had never been divided and at the time of the trial was worth over a half a million dollars. This was owned jointly by the five children until some time prior to 1930. Before 1930, the appellee and his two sisters, Mrs. Catón and Alice O. Richardson purchased the interests of the other two sisters, thus becoming the owners of an undivided one-third of the estate. Such ownership continued until June, 1930. Mrs. Catón was about 77 years of age and in failing health. For this reason they started negotiations in 1929 to partition and divide the property. In order to accomplish this purpose it became necessary to have plaintiff join in the execution of deeds conveying certain real estate to defendant’s sisters, Mrs. Catón and Alice Richardson.

Mrs. Caton’s son, Louis Catón, resided in Oklahoma and came to Sioux City for the purpose of effecting a partition and settlement of the estate. The appellant refused to sign the necessary papers and deeds to accomplish this settlement until the second or third of June, 1930. After many heated and violent discussions between the appellant and appellee, she was finally induced to sign the necessary deeds. This was not done, however, until after appellee paid her the sum of $50,000 therefor. After she had received the $50,000 she asked him to give her another check for good measure, and he thereupon gave her another $1,000.

These parties were before us in another action entitled Isabel Richardson v. Alice O. Richardson, 216 Iowa 1205, 250 N. W. 481, in which the appellant sought to set aside some of the deeds referred to, on the ground of fraud and undue influence. The facts leading up to the execution of those instruments are substantially identical with those relied on in this action in relation thereto and are all fully set out in that action. We will therefore not attempt to restate them here. In that action we decided that the appellant failed to establish the grounds relied upon by sufficient evidence, and refused to set aside any of such instruments.

One of the principal grounds alleged in this action for the appointment of a guardian is also that appellee was so dominated *129 by his sisters and Louis Catón, his nephew, that he was fraudulently induced to sign the instruments in question. This evidence, together with other evidence, was offered in this case for the purpose of showing appellee’s incompetency to manage his property. In the other action we held that appellant failed to establish fraud and undue influence, and we adhere to that finding here. We will, therefore, give such allegations of fraud and undue influence no further consideration here.

The other allegations of the petition for the appointment of a guardian are that for more than two years the defendant’s mind has become so affected because of age and ill health that he does not have sufficient mental capacity to conserve, protect, and handle his business and property in his previously competent and normal manner.

At the conclusion of appellant’s evidence the court sustained defendant’s motion for a directed verdict for the defendant. Appellant contends that the court erred in failing to submit this case to the jury on the question of the sufficiency of the evidence to establish appellee’s mental incompetency to handle his own business. Appellant contends there was sufficient evidence to take, this question of appellee’s mental incapacity to the jury.

It is the well settled law of this state that, where substantial evidence has been tendered on the part of the plaintiff to establish the defendant’s unsoundness of mind and his inability to manage and control his business and property, the question then becomes one for the jury. Ferguson v. Ferguson, 183 Iowa 519, 167 N. W. 471; Smith v. Hickenbottom, 57 Iowa 733, 11 N. W. 664; McGibbons v. McGibbons, 119 Iowa 140, 93 N. W. 55; Brown v. Lambe, 119 Iowa 404, 93 N. W. 486.

It is equally well settled that where the evidence fails to show such an unsound mental condition as to render the defendant incapable of managing his own business and property, then1 it becomes the duty of the court to direct a verdict for defendant. Wood v. Wood, 129 Iowa 255, loc. cit. 258, 105 N. W. 517; Huffman v. Beamer, 198 Iowa 1113, loc. cit. 1116, 197 N. W. 476; Miller v. Paulson, 185 Iowa 218, 169 N. W. 203; McGuire v. Moorhead, 151 Iowa 25, 130 N. W. 140; McDermott v. Rahely, 146 Iowa 458, 125 N. W. 219; Arment v. Arment, 134 Iowa 199, 111 N. W. 812; Schick v. Stuhr, 120 Iowa 396, 94 N. W. 915; Lang v. Lang, 157 Iowa 300, 135 N. W. 604.

*130 A guardianship proceeding is not necessarily adversary, but is presumed to be prosecuted and defended solely in the interest of the defendant. Timonds v. Hunter, 169 Iowa 598, 151 N. W. 961; McGuire v. Moorhead, 151 Iowa 25, 130 N. W. 140; Huffman v. Beamer, 198 Iowa 1113, 197 N. W. 476.

In Timonds v. Hunter, 169 Iowa 598, loc. cit. 608, 151 N. W. 961, 964, we said:

“No one other than the defendant has a legal interest in the result. And yet the correctness of the result is of the highest importance to the defendant. A judgment making the guárdianship permanent puts him under disability as a non compos mentis. It not only deprives him of the present control of his property, but it renders him presumptively incapable, and perhaps conclusively so, of entering into any contract or making any testamentary disposal of his property.”

The theory of this class of cases is that it is necessary to show by sufficient evidence that the defendant does not have sufficient mental capacity to carry on his own business affairs. Emerick v. Emerick, 83 Iowa 411, 49 N. W. 1017, 13 L. R. A. 757; McDermott v. Rahely, 146 Iowa 458, 125 N. W. 219; McGuire v. Moorhead, 151 Iowa 25, 130 N. W. 140; Lang v. Lang, 157 Iowa 300, 135 N. W. 604; Graham v. Clapp, 191 Iowa 1224, 184 N. W. 329; Coomes v. Mayer, 201 Iowa 405, 205 N. W. 645.

In Coomes v. Mayer, 201 Iowa 405, loc. cit. 408, 205 N. W. 645, 647, we said:

“The guardianship of a spendthrift or of one who is subject to evil habits may well be held over the ward for a time of testing his recovery of self-control. Nothing of that kind is involved here. In the very nature of the case the plaintiff’s capacity to control her property cannot improve. The only fact appearing in the record as' a reason for continuing this guardianship is the natural apprehension that her new husband has acquired sufficient influence over her to enable him to despoil her and to defraud her of her property. Such apprehensions are not to be indulged in. - The moral character of the husband is unchallenged.”

In Graham v. Clapp, 191 Iowa 1224, loc. cit. 1225, 184 N. W. 329, we said:

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