Wilkinson v. Simmon

34 V.I. 74, 1996 WL 303682, 1996 V.I. LEXIS 11
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedMay 23, 1996
DocketCiv. No.799/1991
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 34 V.I. 74 (Wilkinson v. Simmon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilkinson v. Simmon, 34 V.I. 74, 1996 WL 303682, 1996 V.I. LEXIS 11 (virginislands 1996).

Opinion

SWAN, Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This Court must decide whether to set aside two deeds executed by plaintiffs' mother, an octogenarian, which transferred three parcels of property to defendants. For the reasons which follow, the deeds will be set aside.

FACTS

Plaintiffs are the children of the late Ada Battiste ("Battiste") of St. Thomas, who was bom on July 9, 1900 and died on June 22, 1991 at the age of ninety, leaving plaintiffs as her heirs at law. For more than fifteen years preceding her death, Battiste lived alone. Fler children resided off-island between the time of 1960 and the time of Battiste's death, if not longer.

In the mid-1960's, Defendant Aristide Simmon ("Simmon") befriended Ms. Battiste. In subsequent years, Battiste and Simmon developed a unique relationship, which culminated in Simmon becoming Battiste's only confidante and de facto guardian. The relationship between Battiste and Simmon is worthy of elucidation, even though they were not related by blood or by marriage. Defendant Olivia H. Simmon is the spouse of defendant Simmon.

Essentially, Battiste resided in Estate Thomas, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands in the area commonly called "Raphune Hill." One day in [76]*76mid-1968, Simmon was operating a vehicle, when he encountered Battiste, as she was walking up Raphune Hill to her home. Simmon stopped and gave her a ride. In 1968, Battiste was a total stranger to Simmon. She was then sixty-seven (67) years of age; Simmon was twenty-seven (27) years old. Battiste habitually, if not daily, would walk to and from her residence by utilizing Raphune Hill.

The next day, Simmon met Battiste and promptly offered her a ride which Battiste accepted. Thereafter, Simmon would offer her rides which Battiste always accepted. Simmon routinely used the Raphune Hill route to travel to his Estate Bovoni home. During those rides, Battiste and Simmon would quite naturally engage in conversations.

Eventually, Battiste and Simmon became close friends, despite their age disparity of forty years. The friendship which would become tantamount to a relationship of trust and personal confidante, continued until Battiste's death in 1991.

In 1976 and with Battiste's tacit approval, Simmon began to utilize Battiste's post office box as his mailing address.

Battiste, who was a regular Moravian Church attendee and former Sunday School teacher, would now be chauffeured by Simmon to and from church every Sunday at no cost to her. Before Simmon knew Battiste and for innumerable years, Battiste would habitually visit her longtime friend, Mary Francis, every Sunday after church. After these afternoon social visits including meals, Francis' husband would unfailingly drive Battiste to her home. However, after befriending Battiste, Simmon would undertake the Sunday chauffeuring chore.

Eventually, Simmon began handling all of Battiste's personal affairs and business, including cashing her social security checks, doing her regular grocery shopping and other necessary errands, retrieving her mails from her post office box for which he now had a key, and transporting her to and from doctors' appointments. From Battiste's income and financial assistance she received from her children, Simmon oversaw the paying of Battiste's telephone and electrical bills. One year Simmon utilized his vacation to paint Battiste's home, ostensibly at no cost to Battiste. Slowly and inexorably, Battiste began a unique dependency upon Simmon. Simmon never attempted to dissuade the dependency. Rather, he [77]*77encouraged it; he was extremely receptive to it, and he would actively bolster Battiste's dependency on him by willingly performing these chores for Battiste. By 1976, Simmon had become a regular visitor to Battiste's home. His visit were daily or several days a week.

In the later years of the relationship, Simmon, a church deacon at the Bovoni Baptiste Church, would daily but alone, pray with Battiste at her home. Their friendship, at this juncture, became stronger as Battiste now began to rely almost exclusively on Simmon to manage her daily business and personal affairs.

Nearing the end of Battiste's life, Simmon would customarily drive Battiste to and from his home for Sunday dinners with his family. Sometimes Simmon and his wife would prepare meals at their home, which would be eaten by the three of them at Battiste's home.

With the passing years, Battiste commensurately became more dependent on Simmon. For example, although Battiste was a homemaker and could do her cooking, Simmon endeavored to prepare Battiste's breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis. If the meals were not prepared at Battiste's home, Simmon would personally deliver the meals to her house.

By the 1980's, Simmon became Battiste's personal spokesperson in her contacts with her family members and friends. In her last years, and in conversations with her children, Battiste would customarily refer to anything she was doing or planning to do as "We will do or are doing" instead of "I plan to do or I will do" something. The "we" in her statements was an obvious reference to both Battiste and Simmon. Suffice to say, Battiste, in her last years, would not do anything without first consulting Simmon. More succinctly, Simmon was Battiste's "man of business," as he handled and supervised the full dimension of her daily life and business affairs.

Importantly, Simmon, would transport Battiste to the attorneys' offices to execute her Last Will and Testament and to execute the deeds to properties which she conveyed to Simmon and his wife.

Battiste's first cousin, Louise Arnett, would also undertake some of the chores for Battiste, such as her shopping. However, she did not do so to the extent that Simmon did.

[78]*78In the mid-1980's, Battiste, to some degree, became alienated from her children for no apparent reason. Similarly, Battiste who had enjoyed friendships with her close friends for more than thirty years, would also become withdrawn and isolated from her friends as well.

The Court finds another perplexing aspect to the relationship between Simmon and Battiste, which involved the "forbidden art," or "witchcraft" or "obeah1 ." Battiste, for more than thirty years prior to her demise, had a fixation or obsession with obeah. On countless occasions, and long before she met Simmon, she would initiate discussions about obeah with some close friends and family members. No amount of assurances from her family and close friends of more than thirty years could dislodge, derail, or dissuade Battiste's unfailing belief about the "Forbidden Art," or convince her that obeah was something to be disregarded and ignored.

Despite her regular church attendance, Battiste became consumed or overwhelmed by her belief in obeah to the extent that the Court finds that she implicated Simmon in her obeah experiences. Whether Simmon was a reluctant or willing participant or no participant in these obeah matters depends upon the testimonial evidence. Simmon has vehemently and ardently denied any participation in such activities. Furthermore, Simmons offered testimony from other witnesses who knew Battiste for years who indicated that Battiste never discussed, intimated or broached the subject of obeah with them. Nonetheless, the Court finds compelling the testimonial evidence from several credible witnesses, two of whom have no interest in the outcome of this case.

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Related

In re the Estate of David
39 V.I. 55 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
34 V.I. 74, 1996 WL 303682, 1996 V.I. LEXIS 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilkinson-v-simmon-virginislands-1996.