Adams, In re

• Decision Date: 08 April 1968
• Docket Number: No. 2917,2917
• Citation: 209 So.2d 363
• Parties: In re Interdiction of Margaret C. ADAMS.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 363

209 So.2d 363

In re Interdiction of Margaret C. ADAMS.

No. 2917.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

April 8, 1968.

Rehearing Denied May 6, 1968.

Adams & Reese, Edward J. Rice, Jr., New Orleans, for plaintiff-appellee.

Robert L. Atkinson, III, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

Before REGAN, SAMUEL and CHASEZ, JJ.

SAMUEL, Judge.

Mrs. Elizabeth Adams Harrison filed this suit to interdict her aunt, Miss Margaret C. Adams, who was approximately 89 years of age. After trial there was judgment pronouncing the interdiction. The defendant has appealed.

The litigants are in agreement as to the applicable law and jurisprudence. LSA-C.C. Art. 422 provides, Inter alia, that '* * * all persons who, owing to any infirmity, are incapable of taking care of their persons and administering their estates * * *' are liable to be interdicted. The jurisprudence recognizes that, since mental infirmities vary greatly in nature and degree, each interdiction must depend upon its own particular facts; interdiction is a harsh remedy and should be pronounced only where the proof is clear and conclusive; and there are three prerequisites to the pronouncement of a judgment of interdiction: (1) incapacity to administer one's estate; (2) inability to care for one's person; and (3) an actual necessity for the interdiction. Francke v. His Wife, 29 La.Ann. 302; Interdiction of Watson, 31 La.Ann. 757; Calderon v. Martin, 50 La.Ann. 1153, 23 So. 909; Andrus v. Andrus, 136 La. 824, 67 So. 895; Pons v. Pons, 137 La. 25, 68 So. 201; In re Corbin, 187 La. 968, 175 So. 636; Interdiction of Scurto, 188 La. 459, 177 So. 573; Interdiction of Taliaferro, 231 La. 394, 91 So.2d 578; Interdiction of Reeves, La.App., 187 So.2d 546.

The question presented is whether there is sufficient evidence to justify the judgment.

Miss Adams is a former school teacher who has never married. Her closest relatives are three nieces, daughters of a deceased brother, one of whom is the petitioner who lives in Baton Rouge. As shown by the inventory contained in the record the defendant's estate has a total value of $228,562.26, principally in corporate stocks and real estate. Defendant also receives regular payments from the Teachers Retirement Fund.

Miss Adams owns a large home on St. Charles Avenue in the City of New Orleans. She lived in that home for many years with a close friend, Miss Josephine Echezebal. Following the latter's death approximately five years before this suit was instituted, Miss Adams resided alone for some time assisted by a succession of maids. Later she was assisted by a succession of ladies who slept on the premises but worked elsewhere during the day. Thereafter, she has continued living in the home without assistance from any one.

Several months prior to the filing of this suit Miss Adams had been contacted by a man who represented himself as being an employee of the Sewerage & Water Board. He told her he had lost his home and possessions in a hurricane and, because of concern about what the Sewerage & Water Board might do to her, she agreed to allow him to stay in her home. Later he brought two other men, whom he told defendant were a friend and a nephew, to live on the premises. Miss Adams regretted her decision permitting these strangers to live in her home and talked about the matter to a friend or friends who ultimately advised her relatives.

Petitioner had not seen her aunt over a period of years. But upon receiving the information regarding the strangers in Miss Adams' home she visited her aunt accompanied by an attorney and a detective . Later that day petitioner obtained a coroner's commitment and brought Miss Adams to DePaul's Hospital, a sanitarium in the City of New Orleans, where she has remained. This suit for interdiction then was instituted.

A total of eight witnesses testified at the trial; four were called by petitioner and four were called by the defendant. Testifying on behalf of petitioner were: Mrs. Harrison, the petitioner; Dr. Sam Hobson, a specialist in internal medicine and the defendant's personal physician for many years; Dr. Benjamin F. Parker, a psychiatrist who was appointed by the trial judge to examine the defendant and report to the court as to her mental state; and Dr. Kenneth A. Ritter, also a psychiatrist. Testifying for the defense were: Dr. Charles R. Smith, a psychiatrist; Dr. William C. Super, also a psychiatrist; Mrs. Lillian B. Fritzwilson, the defendant's close personal friend of many years; and the defendant, Miss Adams.

Mrs. Harrison testified that when she went to her aunt's home in the company of her attorney and a detective, the door was opened by a man who looked like a tramp. Another man was downstairs and a third, not fully clothed, was upstairs. She found Miss Adams locked in her room taking a nap. The house was in a state of general disorder. She spoke with her aunt and asked her about the men. Miss Adams told her they represented the City of New Orleans and that she was afraid of them. When she brought her aunt to the sanitarium the defendant threatened suicide. Petitioner and her party then returned to the house and evicted the three men. Upon searching the house she found eight or nine checks; one over a year old, and an overdue utilities bill.

Dr. Hobson testified he had known and treated the defendant for at least fifteen years. With the exception of the six weeks immediately prior to the commitment, during the preceding two years he saw her whenever she would telephone him which occurred at least once and occasionally twice each month. During the last two or three years her health has not been as good as it had been previously. She is forgetful and her memory at times is poor. On some occasions she complained her house had been entered by men and she had to change locks on the doors. On other occasions she told this doctor the druggist had not delivered medicine she had been ordered to take; but when he checked with the drug store the doctor had been informed she had refused to accept delivery of the medicine . While Dr. Hobson felt she was in good health for a woman of her age, he did not feel she was capable of running her household, cooking her meals or paying her bills. He suggested several times that she go to a hospital or a nursing home but she refused to do so . He signed the request for a coroner's commitment as her physician because he felt Miss Adams needed to be taken care of and was unable to do so herself. He has seen her four to five times since the commitment. The day before the trial he found her ambulatory and able to care for her personal hygiene. While he doubted her ability to nourish herself properly, he felt if she had someone to look after her in every respect she could live wherever she wanted. He was also of the opinion she could be cared for in a nursing home and felt her care at DePaul's was being handled in a very satisfactory manner. He stated she had threatened suicide on several occasions.

Dr. Parker examined the defendant on twenty occasions, first during the three days following the commitment and three to four times each week thereafter. She was distraught but communicated, although there was much rambling in her conversation and difficulty in coming to a final point in any discussion . She talked at length about having been contacted by the Sewerage & Water Board employee who moved into her home with two other men. She also spoke at length and was quite moved over people who were fond of her, stating many men were in love with her including doctors and others. His diagnosis was that Miss Adams was senile with chronic brain syndrome or cerebral arteriosclerosis; her remote memory was good but her recent memory inadequate. He felt she was in need of care and supervision and was unable to care for herself, her property or her business affairs. At the present time she is in the geriatric ward at DePaul's with people in similar conditions under twenty-four hour supervision where her nutrition, hygiene and comfort are cared for. He felt...