Buerki v. Lochner
| Decision Date | 28 November 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-03549,89-03549 |
| Citation | 570 So.2d 1061 |
| Parties | 15 Fla. L. Weekly D2892 Robin C. BUERKI, III, Appellant, v. Frances E. LOCHNER, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Edward T. O'Donnell and Jeffrey D. Fridkin of Mershon, Sawyer, Johnston, Dunwody & Cole, Naples, for appellant.
Lawrence A. Farese and Cathy S. Reiman of Cummings & Lockwood, Naples, for appellee.
Robin Buerki, III, appeals the trial court's dismissal of his crossclaim and denial of leave to file complaint for intervention. Buerki alleges these rulings by the trial court prevented him from participating in actions regarding the alleged diversion by a co-beneficiary of certain funds from a trust that Buerki's father created. We affirm the dismissal of the crossclaim and reverse the order denying intervention.
In 1970 Robin Buerki, Jr. (Mr. Buerki) set up a revocable trust with his son, Robin Buerki, III (Robin) and Mr. Buerki's live-in companion, Frances Lochner, as the beneficiaries. In 1987, Mr. Buerki executed a second amendment to the third restatement of the revocable trust which incorporated the terms of a cohabitation agreement that he and Lochner had signed earlier. The cohabitation agreement required that Mr. Buerki sell his home in Pennsylvania and place the proceeds in the revocable trust within two months.
In December 1987, Mr. Buerki was admitted to the hospital where he remained for a lengthy period of time. In January 1988, Mr. Buerki sold the Pennsylvania home and netted approximately $279,000. Later that month, the proceeds from the sale of the house were deposited in a money market account in trust for Lochner. In April 1988, Mr. Buerki died. Lochner withdrew the funds from the money market account and deposited them at NCNB in a certificate of deposit in her name.
We are reviewing the rulings of the trial court in two separate cases which are consolidated in this appeal. In August 1988, NCNB National Bank of Florida, as trustee of Mr. Buerki's trust, filed an action for declaratory relief naming Robin and Lochner as defendants (Case I). In this action, NCNB requested the court to do the following: determine whether NCNB has the duty to obtain the $279,000 from Lochner; determine if the $279,000 is part of the trust's assets; determine whether Lochner must return the $279,000 to NCNB as trustee; and declare that the $279,000 be transferred into the registry of the court. Lochner filed a counterclaim against NCNB and a crossclaim against Robin, asking for a declaration of gift. Robin filed a crossclaim against Lochner, seeking imposition of a constructive trust over the funds derived from the sale of the Buerki family home. Lochner sought summary judgment, alleging that Robin lacked standing to pursue his crossclaim because only the trustee had the right to assert a claim to the property allegedly belonging to the trust. The trial judge granted the motion for summary judgment but gave Robin leave to amend his crossclaim. Robin filed a first amended crossclaim, alleging that his action for constructive trust was being brought "as and on behalf of the Estate of Robin C. Buerki, Jr." since the personal representative of the decedent's estate and the trustee of the trust, NCNB, had refused to seek recovery of the funds representing the sale of the Pennsylvania house. Lochner moved to dismiss Robin's first amended crossclaim on the basis of lack of standing. The trial judge granted Lochner's motion and dismissed the first amended crossclaim with prejudice, specifically finding that Robin lacked standing to seek recovery of assets on behalf of the decedent's estate or the trust.
NCNB, as personal representative of Mr. Buerki's estate, filed a complaint against Lochner, seeking to impose a constructive trust on the proceeds from the sale of the...
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