Carlson v. Warren
| Decision Date | 27 December 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 54A01-07075-CCV-197.,54A01-07075-CCV-197. |
| Citation | 878 N.E.2d 844 |
| Parties | Joyce CARLSON, Individually as and as Personal Representative of Estate of Noel Mangus and Elizabeth Alderson, Appellants-Plaintiffs, v. Ernest and Anita WARREN, Appellees-Defendants. |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
Bruce D. Brattain, Mario Garcia, Brattain & Minnix, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellants.
Daniel L. Taylor, Ann M. Schneider, Kincaid, Taylor, Sims, Chadd & Minnette, P.C., Crawfordsville, IN, Attorneys for Appellees.
Joyce Carlson ("Carlson"), the administrator of Noel Mangus's ("Mangus") estate, and Elizabeth Alderson ("Alderson"), Mangus's sister, challenge Mangus's inter vivos conveyance of his farmland to his caretakers, Ernest and Anita Warren (the "Warrens" or "Ernest" or "Anita," respectively). We find that, by designating deposition testimony in support of their motion for summary judgment that relates to the deed transfer at issue in this case, Carlson and Alderson waived the applicability of Indiana Code § 34-45-2-4 ("Dead Man's Statute"). Further, the Warrens' attorney's testimony regarding his preparation of the warranty deed in question was relevant to show that he executed the deed in conformity with his habit and was therefore admissible. Finally, we conclude that summary judgment in favor of the Warrens was appropriate because Carlson and Alderson failed to show that the Warrens and Mangus had a confidential relationship by operation of law and otherwise failed to meet their initial burdens of proof on their tort claims against the Warrens. We affirm.
Noel Mangus ("Mangus") owned 117.33 acres of farmland in Montgomery County. This land was part of a larger family farm. In 2000, due to failing health, Mangus moved in to the Warrens' home. Ernest was Mangus's nephew. Until late 2003, when Mangus moved to a nursing facility, the Warrens cared for him. They assisted him with daily activities, provided him with food, clothing, and shelter, and oversaw his medication and doctor appointments. Additionally, at Mangus's direction, they farmed his land and handled his finances. Appellant's App. p. 80, 90-91, 93-94. For a period of time prior to 2000, as well, Ernest managed Mangus's farm.
On August 6, 2003, Mangus executed a warranty deed in which he retained a life interest in the parcel of land and granted the Warrens a remainder interest. Attorney Richard McGaughey ("Attorney McGaughey") prepared the deed. Mangus died intestate on August 25, 2004, leaving no spouse or children. He was survived by his sister, Alderson, his niece, Carlson, and his nephew, Ernest, the sole beneficiaries of his estate under Indiana intestacy law. The trial court appointed Carlson administrator of Mangus's estate.
Carlson and Alderson then filed suit to set aside the conveyance of the land, alleging fraud, undue influence, constructive fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and conversion, id. at 32-34, and later amended their complaint to include tortious interference with an inheritance, id. at 47. The Warrens denied any wrongdoing and filed a motion for summary judgment. In response, Carlson and Alderson filed a memorandum in opposition to the Warrens' motion and also moved for summary judgment. On the same day, Carlson and Alderson filed a motion to strike certain evidence designated in support of the Warrens' motion. Specifically, they asked the court to strike testimonial evidence given during depositions of Ernest and Attorney McGaughey regarding the deed transaction of August 6, 2003. They argued that Ernest's testimonial evidence was barred by the Dead Man's Statute and that Attorney McGaughey's testimony was barred by the Dead Man's Statute and Indiana Evidence Rules 406 and 602. On March 23, 2007, the trial court denied the motion to strike and granted the Warrens' motion for summary judgment on all counts, and this appeal ensued.
On appeal, Carlson and Alderson raise three issues. First, they argue that the trial court erred in refusing to strike deposition testimony given by Ernest regarding the circumstances surrounding the conveyance. Second, they contend that the trial court erred in refusing to strike deposition testimony given by Attorney McGaughey regarding his preparation of the warranty deed. Finally, they argue that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the Warrens on the issues of undue influence, constructive fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, and tortious interference with an inheritance. We address each in turn.
Carlson and Alderson argue that the trial court erred in denying their motion to strike certain deposition testimony by Ernest and Attorney McGaughey from the Warrens' designation of evidence. A ruling regarding the admission or exclusion of evidence, including a trial court's ruling on a motion to strike, is typically reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Hirsch v. State, 697 N.E.2d 37, 40 (Ind. 1998). Specifically, we review challenges to the admission or exclusion of evidence based upon questions of witness competency or relevance for an abuse of discretion. Hughes v. State, 546 N.E.2d 1203, 1209 (Ind.1989) (); Williams v. State, 749 N.E.2d 1139, 1142 (Ind.2001) (). Only when the decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances will we reverse. Nationwide Ins. Co. v. Heck, 873 N.E.2d 190, 195 (Ind.Ct. App.2007) (citing McCutchan v. Blanck, 846 N.E.2d 256, 260 (Ind.Ct.App.2006)).
Carlson and Alderson argue that Ernest's testimony regarding the circumstances surrounding the August 6, 2003, deed is barred by Indiana's Dead Man's Statute.1 Indiana Evidence Rule 601 provides that "[e]very person is competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided" by the Evidence Rules or the Indiana Code. Indiana Code § 34-45-2-4 provides in relevant part:
(a) This section applies to suits or proceedings:
(1) in which an executor or administrator is a party;
(2) involving matters that occurred during the lifetime of the decedent; and
(3) where a judgment or allowance may be made or rendered for or against the estate represented by the executor or administrator.
* * * *
(d) Except as provided in subsection (e), a person:
(1) who is a necessary party to the issue or record; and
(2) whose interest is adverse to the estate;
is not a competent witness as to matters against the estate.
Thus, because Ernest is a necessary party to the action and his interest is adverse to that of the estate—namely, his claim to the parcel of land deeded by Mangus—Carlson and Alderson contend that he is an incompetent witness. The trial court reviewed this claim and found that the plaintiffs waived the application of the Dead Man's Statute by relying upon portions of Ernest's deposition in support of their motion and memorandum to the trial court. Appellants' App. p. 16.
The primary purpose of the Dead Man's Statute is to "ensure that when one party to a transaction has had her lips sealed by death the other party's lips are sealed by law." Taylor v. Taylor, 643 N.E.2d 893, 896 (Ind.1994) (citing Johnson v. Estate of Rayburn, 587 N.E.2d 182 (Ind. Ct.App.1992), superceded by statute on other grounds). By rendering certain parties legally incompetent to testify in matters involving the decedent, the statute "put[s] the surviving party on equal footing with the decedent with respect to matters that occurred during the decedent's lifetime." Johnson, 587 N.E.2d at 185. This aims to protect a decedent's estate from "spurious claims." Id. at 184 (citing State Farm Life Ins. Co. v. Fort Wayne Nat'l Bank, 474 N.E.2d 524, 526 (Ind.Ct. App.1985)). Ultimately, Indiana's Dead Man's Statute is a "rule[] of fairness and mutuality." Id. (citing State Farm Life Ins. Co., 474 N.E.2d at 526; Satterthwaite v. Estate of Satterthwaite, 420 N.E.2d 287, 289 (Ind.Ct.App.1981), reh'g denied). "The application of the statute is limited to circumstances in which the decedent, if alive, could have refuted the testimony of the surviving party." Johnson, 587 N.E.2d at 185.
A party can, however, waive the application of the Dead Man's Statute, thus allowing the testimony of parties who the statute would exclude. Our Supreme Court has clarified that
[A]t the point when a party employs a witness's deposition and/or admissions in court, the party is in fact using the information . . . for an evidentiary purpose. The party is treating, and hopes that the court will treat, the . . . information as establishing some relevant fact about the case.
In such circumstances, if the deposition testimony concerns matters within the scope of the Dead Man's statute, then the party who offered the deposition testimony into evidence would have waived the incompetency of the witness, because that party has relinquished the benefit bestowed by the statute.
Here, Carlson and Alderson designated more than fourteen excerpts from Ernest's deposition in support of their motion for summary judgment and memorandum in opposition to the Warrens' motion for summary judgment. Appellant's App. p. 133. In response to the trial court's determination that they waived the application of the Dead Man's Statute, they argue that the portions of Ernest's deposition upon which they relied did not implicate it. Citing to the distinction between admissible and inadmissible evidence under the Dead Man's Statute, Johnson, 587 N.E.2d at 185, Carlson and Alderson argue that the evidence that they used was admissible and, thus, did not trigger waiver of the statute's protection.
We agree that, in evaluating competency under the Dead Man's Statute, this Court has recognized a distinction between the types of information that might be provided by a...
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