Dias v. The Estate of Ciccone
| Docket Number | 109-2019 |
| Decision Date | 21 December 2021 |
| Parties | KENNETH J. DIAS, JR., et al. v. THE ESTATE OF WALTRAUT CICCONE |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Circuit Court for Prince George's County Case No. CAL 17-17024
OPINION [*]
The Circuit Court for Prince George's County entered a judgment granting relief to the Estate of Waltraut Ciccone ("the Estate"), appellee and cross appellant, in a case in which the Estate had sued Marie Dias ("Marie") and her son Kenneth J. Dias, Jr. ("Kenneth"), appellants and cross appellees. The Estate alleged that the Diases, who each held a Maryland real estate sales license, had taken unfair advantage of its decedent, Waltraut "Val" Ciccone ("Ms Ciccone"), by persuading Ms. Ciccone to sell her home to Kenneth for $60, 000 in March 2016 at a time when the market value of the home was over $200, 000. The court found that Marie had taken unfair advantage of a confidential relationship with Ms. Ciccone, and declared the conveyance to Kenneth void. The court imposed a constructive trust on the property for the benefit of the Estate, and awarded other ancillary relief.
The Diases noted an appeal, and the Estate noted a cross appeal.
The Diases present for our review the following questions, which we quote verbatim:
As we will explain in this opinion, we will hold that there was sufficient evidence to find: (1) that Marie was in a confidential relationship with Ms. Ciccone, (2) that there were no erroneous findings of fact material to the court's finding and legal conclusions in that regard, and (3) that the court's finding that Kenneth was a straw purchaser who was the beneficiary of Marie's breach of Ms. Ciccone's confidence was within the scope of the issues raised in the pleadings and was adequately supported by the evidence.
In its cross appeal, the Estate presents the following four questions:
Because any error with respect to these four questions was at most a harmless error, we answer the cross appellant's questions in the negative.
We shall affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court for Prince George's County.
The evidence at trial revealed the following. In early 2016 Waltraut Ciccone was a 78-year-old woman in poor health who lived in Clinton, Maryland, in a home that she had owned since her divorce in the late 1980s. During the early portion of 2016, a person named David Nelson, who was described at trial as a "boarder" or "tenant," resided in the basement of Ms. Ciccone's home, and he provided some minimal assistance to Ms. Ciccone by performing chores such as shopping. There was evidence that Ms. Ciccone was in poor health during that time frame. Joan Foor-a retired nurse who lived in California, but had been "very good friends" with Ms. Ciccone for over fifty years- testified that she spoke to Ms. Ciccone by phone frequently during the January-February 2016 time frame, and Ms. Foor's impression of Ms. Ciccone's health was that she was "very depressed" and "not well." Ms. Foor commented that, at times, Ms. Ciccone's "thinking" was "slow, lethargic almost."
Medical records admitted at trial reflected that, on February 1, 2016, Ms. Ciccone was taken via ambulance to Southern Maryland Hospital after she was discovered lying on the floor of her home. The medical records indicate that, upon that occasion, Ms. Ciccone was "disheveled," "unkempt," "incontinent of urine and feces," suffering from altered mental status, "unable to provide any medical history," and "confused[, ] disoriented[, ] and unable to give a reliable history[.]" When asked if she knew why she was in the emergency department, Ms. Ciccone replied: "I fell for the third time this week." The records from the February 1 hospital visit reflected that, after she was administered fluids for her dehydration and discharged, David Nelson (Ms. Ciccone's boarder) came to pick her up from the hospital.
Two days later, on February 3, 2016, Ms. Ciccone was again transported by ambulance to Southern Maryland Hospital, where she complained of general weakness and a history of falls. The emergency department record reflects that Ms. Ciccone reported that she was "falling every day for no reason" and that she felt "lightheaded, dizzy, and weak before she falls." The record further stated: "It is noted that [Ms. Ciccone] does not know where she is or the current month/year." The record from this hospital visit also included a note that Ms. Ciccone was "confused on questioning and demonstrates non-linear thought processes." She was admitted and given numerous tests.
A report of a hospitalist, Dr. Michelle Tang, dated February 4, 2016, observed that Ms. Ciccone was "likely debilitated from malnutrition[.]" Dr. Tang's report further reflected that Ms. Ciccone "states [that] she had been somewhat confused, CT head no acute findings again in the ED, and now she is back to her neurologic baseline which seems to be demented." Dr. Tang also noted that Ms. Ciccone Ms. Ciccone was discharged on February 10, 2016. Her discharge summary noted: "Dementia: Stable[.]"
That same date (February 10, 2016) is the date that one of the Diases delivered, via David Nelson, a contract offer Maria Dias had drafted for her son Kenneth to purchase Ms. Ciccone's home, which is located in the Oak Orchard subdivision at 9609 Hale Drive, Clinton, Maryland 20735. The Diases live in that same subdivision, approximately one-third of a mile away from Ms. Ciccone's home. The offer of purchase-on forms published by the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors®, commonly referred to as "GCAAR"-provided for Marie's son Kenneth to purchase Ms. Ciccone's home for $60, 000.00. Kenneth signed the offer on February 10, 2016, but he testified that his mother alone filled out the contract forms without input from him. One contract addendum on a GCAAR form captioned "Addendum of Clauses-A" included a term that had been typed on blank lines at the end of the form, stating: "Purchaser agrees that the Seler [sic] will live have a 'life estate' in the property at no charge, as long as she is alive or so long as she is able to occupy the property." (Italicized words added by hand.) Another typed document, that was not on a GCAAR form, was captioned "ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS," and stated:
Dias will pay the following recurring property bills:
In hand-writing at the bottom of these additional provisions was another sentence: "Dias will also take care of Clover[, ]" Ms. Ciccone's dog.
Kenneth's signatures and initials on the contract documents prepared by Marie Dias were dated February 10, 2016. Ms. Ciccone's signatures on those documents, which she signed without making any changes, were all dated "3-1-16."
A closing was conducted at Ms. Ciccone's home, in Ms. Ciccone's bedroom, on March 11, 2016. The settlement officer (Michelle Woods) testified that she first met Ms. Ciccone in her bedroom on the day of the settlement, and had never talked to Ms. Ciccone prior to that day. The power and water were both off at that time. Ms. Woods said "[i]t was apparent" that Ms. Ciccone and Marie Dias "were friends" based upon Ms. Woods having witnessed "their exchange with each other while I was there." Ms. Woods was aware that the tax assessment valuation for the house was $200, 000.
Kenneth acknowledged that, although the contract required him to pay the utilities for the property, he did not do so. The outstanding water bill of $152.46 and County taxes of $3, 532.76 for 2015-16 were deducted from Ms. Ciccone's proceeds of sale. At the closing, Marie brought the check to cover the purchase price. The check was drawn on a checking account of a family trust funded by Marie of which Kenneth was a beneficiary. Kenneth never moved into the property.
The settlement officer (Michelle Woods) later prepared a memorandum reflecting that David Nelson had attempted to disrupt the settlement. Ms. Woods stated in her memorandum:
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