Dodson v. Matthews

• Decision Date: 22 December 1937
• Parties: DODSON v. MATTHEWS.
• Court: Tennessee Court of Appeals

117 S.W.2d 969

22 Tenn.App. 49

DODSON v. MATTHEWS.

Court of Appeals of Tennessee, Middle Section.

December 22, 1937

Certiorari Denied by Supreme Court June 11, 1938.

Appeal from Part 1 Chancery Court, Davidson County; R. B. C. Howell Chancellor.

Suit by W. D. Dodson, administrator of the estate of Dr. G. B. Poole against Mrs. Effie Poole Matthews to determine title to certain bonds, wherein a cross-bill was filed. From an adverse decree, complainant appeals.

Reversed and rendered.

W. M Fuqua, of Nashville, for appellant.

Cornelius McKinney & Gilbert, of Nashville, for appellee.

FAW Presiding Judge.

The record in this case presents a controversy between the duly appointed and qualified administrator of the estate of Dr. G. B. Poole, deceased, on the one hand, and Mrs. Effie Poole Matthews, a sister of the deceased Dr. Poole, on the other hand, with respect to the ownership of seven 4 1/4 United States Liberty Loan Bonds of the aggregate par value of $7,000. The decree below was adverse to the administrator and he appealed to this Court and has assigned errors here.

Dr. G. B. Poole, a practicing physician, died intestate at his usual place of residence (the "Maxwell House") in Davidson County, Tennessee, on January 3, 1936, and left surviving him, as his next of kin and heirs at law, two sisters and two nieces. The two sisters were Mrs. Effie Poole Matthews, residing at Mr. Carmel (P. O. Sellers) in Montgomery County, Alabama, and Mrs. Daisy Poole McKenzie, residing at Selma, Alabama. The two nieces were Mrs. Virginia Poole Miller, residing at Greeneville, Alabama and Mrs. Martha Poole Lloyd, residing at Greeneville, Texas.

On January 6, 1936, the County Court of Davidson County, Tennessee, appointed W. D. Dodson, a practicing lawyer and a resident citizen of the city of Nashville, as administrator of the estate of said decedent, Dr. G. B. Poole, and said Dodson qualified as such administrator, and thereafter, on April 23, 1936, filed the original bill in this case, in Part One of the Chancery Court of Davidson County, against Mrs. Effie Poole Matthews (then temporarily in Davidson County, Tennessee), alleging, in substance, that he then had in his possession the aforesaid seven United States Liberty Loan bonds; that, in taking possession of the personal property of his decedent, Dr. Poole, he found said bonds, along with other valuable securities, currency and jewelry in a lock box rented and controlled by Dr. Poole in a Nashville Bank before and at the time of his death; that the defendant Mrs. Effie Poole Matthews had made demand upon complainant to turn over said seven United States Liberty Bonds to her, as her property, claiming that the estate of complainant's decedent has no interest therein, and that she, the defendant, is the owner thereof and entitled to same; but that complainant is advised, and so alleges, that defendant never at any time owned said bonds nor had any interest therein, except as one of the distributees in the administration of said estate of her deceased brother, Dr. Poole, and is not entitled to the possession of said bonds.

Complainant prayed that the Court adjudge and decree that the defendant is not the owner of nor entitled to possession of the seven $1,000 bonds in controversy, but that they are the property of the estate of Dr. G. B. Poole, deceased, to be distributed equally among the next of kin of complainant's intestate.

Defendant answered complainant's bill and alleged that "a completed and irrevocable gift of said bonds was made by complainant's intestate, Dr. G. B. Poole, to this defendant in November, 1930", and that since that time, until his death, Dr. Poole held said bonds as the agent of defendant, and that defendant is entitled to the possession of said bonds as the true owner thereof.

Defendant filed her answer as a cross-bill and prayed that she be decreed the title to and possession of the seven $1,000 United States Liberty Loan Bonds found in the safety deposit box of Dr. G. B. Poole, deceased, as aforesaid, and that cross-defendant W. D. Dodson be required to deliver said bonds to cross-complainant.

The administrator, as cross-defendant, answered the cross-bill and denied the material allegations thereof so far as they were in conflict with the allegations of his original bill.

The foregoing statement of the pleadings is a mere outline thereof for the purpose of indicating the ultimate issues made thereby. Both the original bill of the complainant administrator and the answer and cross-bill of defendant Mrs. Matthews set forth detailed statements of their respective contentions, with specific allegations of time, place and circumstances touching same; but it is, we think, unnecessary to make a further statement of the pleadings, as the Chancellor's findings (which will be hereinafter copied) are, in large measure, responsive to the issues of fact made by the pleadings, and, these findings will be supplemented by statements of such additional facts, pleaded and proved, as may be deemed material when we come to dispose of the appellant's assignments of error.

The cause was heard by the Chancellor, and his findings of fact were embraced in his decree, which decree, including the findings of fact, was entered of record as follows:

"This cause came on to be heard on this the 11th. day of November, 1936, upon the original bill, the answer and cross-bill, the answer to the cross-bill, as well as upon the exhibits and depositions filed in this cause, when, after argument of counsel, the Court is pleased to find, order, adjudge and decree as follows:

"(1) That in the fall of 1930, Dr. G. B. Poole, the complainant's intestate, conferred with his attorney, Mr. John Robinson of Montgomery, Alabama, for the purpose of receiving advice as to how to effectuate a gift of some Government Bonds to his sister, Mrs. Effie Poole Matthews, and that Mr. Robinson advised Dr. Poole to place the bonds in an envelope and write on the envelope that the contents is the property of Mrs. Matthews, and to rent a safety deposit box and deposit the envelope therein.

"That about ten days or two weeks thereafter, Dr. Poole stated to Mr. Robinson that he had carried out his instructions and given these bonds to his sister and put them in a safety deposit box in the bank.

"That at this time Dr. Poole delivered to Mr. Robinson a key to the safety deposit box, with instructions to Mr. Robinson to deliver the key to Mrs. Matthews for him when he saw her.

"That three or four weeks thereafter Mr. Robinson saw Mrs. Matthews and advised her that Dr. Poole had been in his office and had left some bonds for her at the First National Bank and that he had given him the key to give to her but that Mrs. Matthews told Mr. Robinson to keep the key and she would get it later, and she never did get it or ask for the key.

"That in the fall of 1930, Dr. G. B. Poole, while visiting his sister, Mrs. Effie Poole Matthews, in the presence of her son, S. B. Matthews, stated to Mrs. Matthews that he had placed some bonds in the First National Bank of Montgomery for her, and had left the key to the box with Mr. John Robinson, and whenever she wanted the bonds they were hers and to go and get them, and Dr. Poole gave as the reason why he did not deliver the bonds to her,

that she did not have a safe place to keep them at home, and so he had placed them in the bank so they would be safe.

"(2) Shortly after November, 1930, Dr. Poole left Montgomery Alabama, but came back periodically over a period of a year or more and never mentioned the bonds or questioned Mr. Robinson about the key, but that about a year or more after the key was delivered to Mr. Robinson, Dr. Poole came back to Montgomery and asked Mr. Robinson whether or not the key had ever been delivered to Mrs. Matthews, and when advised that the key had not been delivered to Mrs. Matthews, requested Mr. Robinson to give it to him, that he had decided to return to Nashville to live and that he would take the contents of the lock box to Nashville with him. The key was delivered to Dr. Poole by Mr. Robinson and after Dr. Poole's death his administrator, W. D. Dodson, took possession of the contents of Dr. Poole's safety deposit box in the Church Street Branch of the American National Bank, Nashville, Tennessee, and found among other things, an envelope containing seven 4 1/2% United States Liberty Bonds, and on the front of the envelope the following language, in the handwriting of Dr. Poole, appears:

"'The within contained personal property within this envelope is the individual property of Mrs....