Whitfield v. Burttram

471 So. 2d 401, 1985 Ala. LEXIS 3744
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedApril 26, 1985
Docket83-454
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 471 So. 2d 401 (Whitfield v. Burttram) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whitfield v. Burttram, 471 So. 2d 401, 1985 Ala. LEXIS 3744 (Ala. 1985).

Opinion

EMBRY, Justice.

Mr. W.F. Whitfield, a widower, died on 27 November 1981. A will was found at his home after death which was submitted for probate by the named executor, Terry Burttram.

When the testator died, he had no children; he left surviving one older sister, Bessie Burttram, three nephews — Terry Burttram, Clayton Whitfield Burttram, and Jack Whitfield — and one niece, Sarah Burt-tram Hill. All these survivors are proponents of the will except for Jack Whitfield.

Jack Whitfield contested the will, alleging undue influence and improper execution. The case was transferred to circuit court, where it was tried before a jury.

FACTS

Relevant testimony will be related in the discussion of the various issues on appeal. Therefore, initially, we will present just a skeleton outline of the circumstances from which this case arose.

The undisputed testimony was that Whitfield had his sister, Bessie Burttram, accompany him to the office of an attorney in Ashville, Alabama, whom he had known for years, but who is now deceased, to make a will. Fred Whitfield signed the will in his [403]*403lawyer’s office, but it is undisputed that it was not witnessed there.

The will devised Fred’s house to his niece, Sarah Hill. It made certain monetary bequests, gave his automobile to Hoyt Hill, Sarah’s husband, and divided the remainder of the estate equally among his sister, Bessie Burttram, his nephews, Jack Whitfield (the contestant), C.W. Burttram, and Terry Burttram, and his brother, For-ney Whitfield. Forney predeceased the testator.

The jury found in favor of the proponents of the will and the trial court entered judgment ordering the will admitted to probate. A motion for new trial was denied and the contestant, Jack Whitfield, appeals that denial, contending primarily that the jury verdict was contrary to the overwhelming evidence.

As to that contention, we keep in mind the rule that verdicts are presumed to be correct, and no ground of a motion for new trial is more carefully scrutinized than that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence. Cooper v. Peturis, 384 So.2d 1087 (Ala.1980). Furthermore, this presumption of correctness is strengthened by the trial court’s denial of a motion for new trial. Walker v. Cardwell, 348 So.2d 1049 (Ala.1977).

The contestant presents a number of factual theories and contends the jury ignored the overwhelming evidence in support of those theories.

First, contestants argue that the testator’s signature was altered prior to the submission of the will to probate. The portion of the will that stirred this controversy is reproduced below:

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Related

Scrushy v. Tucker
70 So. 3d 289 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 2011)
Ward v. Little
669 So. 2d 836 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
471 So. 2d 401, 1985 Ala. LEXIS 3744, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitfield-v-burttram-ala-1985.