Griffin v. Mays
| Decision Date | 05 July 1938 |
| Docket Number | Case Number: 27814 |
| Citation | 1938 OK 435,183 Okla. 350,82 P.2d 836 |
| Parties | GRIFFIN v. MAYS, Adm'r. |
| Court | Oklahoma Supreme Court |
¶0 1. DEEDS - Lack of Mental Capacity in Grantor.
Whenever there is a great and apparent weakness of mind in a person executing a conveyance, arising from age, sickness, or any other cause, so that the mind of such person executing the conveyance has ceased to be a safeguard to his actions, it is against equitable principles to allow the grantee in such conveyance to obtain any advantage thereby, and it is peculiarly within the powers of a court of equity to set such conveyance aside.
2. APPEAL AND ERROR - Review of Equity Case - Sufficiency of Evidence.
In cases of purely equitable cognizance this court will review the entire record, but will not reverse the findings of the trial court unless the judgment is against the clear weight of the evidence.
Appeal from District Court, Creek County; J. Harvey Smith, Judge.
Action by I.D. Mays, administrator of estate of Joseph Mays, against Adelia Griffin. Judgment for plaintiff, and defendant appeals. Affirmed.
Speakman & Speakman and Kenneth G. Hughes, for plaintiff in error.
John R. Miller, L.O. Lytle, Roy T. Wildman, and Rex H. Auspaugh, for defendant in error.
¶1 This is an appeal by plaintiff in error, defendant below, from a judgment of the district court of Creek county in an action brought by defendant in error, administrator of the estate of Joseph Mays, deceased, to cancel a deed. The parties will hereafter be referred to as in the trial court.
¶2 Joseph Mays, a resident of Creek county, past 90 years of age and bedfast at the time, gave a deed, signed by mark and witnessed, conveying to defendant, his housekeeper and nurse, 160 acres of land on which were five producing oil wells. The land was valued at from $15,000 to $18,000. Grantee placed this deed of record, and it was discovered by plaintiff after the death of his father, the grantor.
¶3 Plaintiff filed suit to cancel the deed, alleging in the petition that: Grantor was affected with senile dementia and did not have mental capacity to understand the nature and purpose of his act; a fiduciary relationship existed between grantor and grantee and grantee had exercised undue influence over grantor in procuring this deed, and there was no consideration for the deed.
¶4 Defendant thereafter answered that: Deceased was not mentally incapacitated or incompetent, or that deed had been procured by undue influence or misrepresentation, and set up a verbal agreement with deceased that if she would remain with him and care for him until his death, he would reward her with a home, and the deed was given pursuant to such agreement. Plaintiff denied execution of the deed.
¶5 The trial court, after hearing the evidence, made findings of facts, the pertinent portion of such findings showing that: (1) Deceased was afflicted with progressive senile dementia. (2) He suffered a stroke of paralysis prior to death, which rendered him incapable of handling business transactions. (3) He could not, physically and unassisted, make his mark upon the deed. (4) Defendant occupied a fiduciary relationship, and at time of making deed deceased was without independent advice, almost blind and his faculties weakened. (5) The deed was signed by the witnesses out of presence and hearing of the grantor.
¶6 Thereafter the court made conclusions of law that: (1) The instrument was not executed according to law, and by reason of fiduciary relationship a heavy burden rested upon defendant to show she had not used this relationship to her own advantage, which burden defendant did not sustain. (2) Deed conveyed no title to defendant, she acquired no interest thereby, and deed should be, canceled.
¶7 The court then entered judgment decreeing title to this land to be in plaintiff and perpetually enjoined defendant from asserting any interest or claim therein. Motion for new trial was overruled, and defendant appeals, making seven assignments of error, presented under eight subdivisions or propositions.
¶8 However, one question alone is decisive of this appeal. Hence, for the sake of brevity, the only question discussed will be whether the evidence was sufficient to show the grantor did not have the capacity to execute this deed with knowledge and understanding of his act.
¶9 The facts surrounding the execution of the deed were as follows: Defendant's attorney, a notary public, and two witnesses visited grantor's home. The attorney had a deed already prepared, from information previously given him. The testimony was that the attorney explained to the grantor they had a deed "to some property from you to Mrs. Griffin, to a farm out from Bristow," and asked him if he understood what it was, to which the grantor nodded his head. The grantor was handed a pen, but was too weak to hold it unassisted. Defendant also told grantor they had the papers and asked him if he was ready to fix them up for her.
¶10 Defendant then helped grantor make his mark by holding and moving his hand. The instrument was then witnessed by C.W. Pounders and B.M. Essary, but grantor's name was signed by Edna Gaye, who thereafter signed her own name. The deed was then signed by the witnesses out of the presence of the grantor.
¶11 The testimony regarding the grantor's mental capacity and condition was conflitting. The grantor's daughter testified her father had the mind of a child. Dr. Coppedge testified the grantor was afflicted with old age and general debility, his mind having deteriorated along with his body, and in his opinion the grantor's mind was in such condition he could not understand the nature and purpose of his acts. The cashier of a bank where the grantor had done business testified, from his knowledge gained by observation of grantor's attempted business activities up until about a year prior to his death, that in his opinion deceased did not have mental capacity to handle business affairs.
¶12 Other witnesses who had known the deceased for years as friends, neighbors, and visitors in his home, all testified they believed him unable to transact business affairs.
¶13 Conflicting with this was the defendant's evidence, consisting of testimony of persons who had known the deceased for varying periods of time. A carpenter, who had repaired a porch for deceased, testified he thought his mental condition good. A door-to-door salesman testified to calling on deceased and selling him certain articles he wanted.
¶14 Several other persons testified to deceased's ability to carry on apparently rational conversations regarding ordinary affairs. Others who professed to be acquainted with him testified to having heard deceased declare his intention to make provision for the defendant if she served him until his death.
¶15 The rule has often been...
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