Hutchinson v. Spanierman
| Decision Date | 10 September 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-2752,97-2752 |
| Parties | (7th Cir. 1999) Thomas R. Hutchinson, individually, and as personal representative of the Estate of Robert W. Hutchinson, deceased, and the Estate of Anne E. Hutchinson, deceased, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ira Spanierman, individually and as an agent of Ira Spanierman, Inc., Spanierman Gallery and Kennedy Galleries, Inc.; Ira Spanierman, Inc., a voluntarily dissolved New York corporation; Spanierman Gallery, an unincorporated association; William E. Jageman, individually and as a shareholder of Jageman and McGraw, Inc.; Jageman and McGraw, Inc., a voluntarily dissolved professional corporation; Robert H. Hahn, individually and as a member of Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald, and Hahn; Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald, and Hahn, a general partnership; and Rita Deere, individually and as an agent of Robert H. Hahn and Bamberger, Foreman, Oswald, and Hahn, Defendants-Appellees |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Evansville Division. No. EV 90-44-C-M/H--Larry J. McKinney, Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Before Harlington Wood, Jr., Ripple, and Kanne, Circuit Judges.
This case deals with the rights of certain individuals concerning an art collection that began passing through intestate succession among several family members beginning more than a century ago. Robert Hutchinson originally filed suit for partition of the art collection in 1980 (the "1980 Case") in the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The district court dismissed Robert Hutchinson's 1980 Case after the court concluded that it did not have jurisdiction over the defendants who had purchased a majority of the pieces of the art collection and that Robert Hutchinson could not establish an interest in the art collection. The district court also determined that Robert Hutchinson's claims to the art collection under a theory of intestate succession were barred by laches, and, therefore, laches constituted a separate and independent ground for dismissal of the 1980 Case. Robert Hutchinson did not appeal the judgment rendered in the 1980 Case.
Approximately one decade after his father had initially filed suit, Thomas Hutchinson, individually and as personal representative of the estates of his parents, Robert W. Hutchinson and Anne E. Hutchinson, filed suit in the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana accusing the defendants, Ira Spanierman, the Spanierman Gallery, and Robert Hutchinson's attorneys, of conspiring to prevent consideration of his father's action for partition.1 Thomas Hutchinson also accused Robert Hutchinson's attorneys of negligently failing to press his father's partition case. Before the district court, Thomas Hutchinson moved for summary judgment on the issue of the proper statute of limitations applicable to his father's estate action for the partition of the proceeds of the sale of the art collection. Thomas Hutchinson also asked the district court to consider a separate suit he had filed as a continuation of the 1980 Case. The defendants moved for summary judgment on these claims as well.
The district court granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment after concluding that the doctrine of laches precluded Robert Hutchinson from establishing joint ownership of the art collection and, therefore, standing to pursue his claims at the time he filed the 1980 Case. The district court also concluded that the 1980 Case was barred by the applicable statute of limitations. For these reasons, the district court concluded that Thomas Hutchinson could not prove the causation or damages elements on the malpractice, collusion, and wrongful interference claims raised in his suit because Robert Hutchinson's cause of action was barred by laches and untimely according to the applicable statute of limitations at the time he filed the case in 1980. In other words, the defendants' alleged conduct did not cause any injuries Robert Hutchinson may have suffered. The district court also denied Thomas Hutchinson's motion to consider his suit a continuation of the 1980 Case and denied Thomas Hutchinson's motion for summary judgment on the issue of the applicable statute of limitations. Because we agree that the doctrine of laches precluded Robert Hutchinson from establishing an ownership interest in the art collection at issue, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants. We also affirm the district court's evidentiary rulings, its decision to deny Thomas Hutchinson's request for sanctions, and its decision to disqualify Hutchinson's counsel.
Theodore Robinson was an American Impressionist artist who died intestate in the late nineteenth century. The numerous paintings Theodore Robinson created are referred to as the "Theodore Robinson Collection." Thomas Hutchinson claims that his father had an ownership interest in the collection according to a line of ancestors traceable to Theodore Robinson.
Theodore Robinson's brother and heir, Hamline Robinson, inherited several paintings from his brother's estate. In 1907, Hamline Robinson, like his brother, died intestate. After Hamline Robinson died, his estate was probated in Missouri state court with notice to claimants published in the area newspaper. His heirs were his widow, Florence A. Robinson, and his two daughters, Florence Hutchinson and Ellen Terhune. Each inherited an undivided one-third interest in Hamline Robinson's estate, which included his brother's art collection.
After her husband's death, Florence Robinson took possession of the art collection and moved in with her daughter, Ellen Terhune. While Florence Robinson lived with Ellen Terhune, they stored the art collection in trunks and displayed it throughout her daughter's home. Florence Robinson died intestate in 1927 leaving her two daughters as her heirs. Although each daughter was entitled to a one-half interest in their mother's estate, Ellen Terhune maintained exclusive possession and control of the art collection throughout her life. During this time, Ellen Terhune permitted a Kansas City art gallery to maintain a number of the paintings for safekeeping and display.
Robert Hutchinson was the son of Florence Hutchinson and the father of the plaintiff in this case, Thomas Hutchinson. Robert Hutchinson claimed that during a visit made by Ellen Terhune to see his mother, she referred to him as a trustee with respect to the paintings and told him that he was entitled to his mother's share of the art collection upon her death, less $400 for a personal loan. In 1945, Florence Hutchinson died intestate, leaving her husband and her son, Robert Hutchinson, as her heirs. Her husband died intestate in 1948, leaving Robert Hutchinson as the sole heir. However, no claim for or accounting of the art collection was made at that time.
Upon the death of her husband, Ellen Terhune moved to Evansville, Indiana, to live with her daughter, Margaret Thompson. They continuously displayed the art collection in her daughter's home and in an art gallery until Ellen Terhune's death. In 1964, Ellen Terhune died intestate. An estate for Ellen Terhune was never opened, and Margaret Thompson was her sole heir. In 1965, Margaret Thompson advised Robert Hutchinson of the death of Ellen Terhune. In 1968, Robert Hutchinson obtained copies of Ellen Terhune's estate papers which identified Ellen Terhune as the sole owner of the entire art collection. Despite learning of this fact, Robert Hutchinson made no claim of ownership to the art collection.
After her mother's death, Margaret Thompson obtained possession of the remainder of the art collection from the art gallery where certain pieces were being displayed and began to negotiate for the sale of the collection. During this process, Margaret Thompson received a letter from Ira Spanierman soliciting work for an appraisal of the paintings. After an exchange of correspondence with Margaret Thompson, Spanierman performed the appraisal of the paintings in Indiana. Although he originally expressed no interest in purchasing any pieces from the collection, Spanierman did, in fact, purchase the majority of the pieces in the collection from Margaret Thompson at a later date. In 1972, Robert Hutchinson met Spanierman in New York and learned of the purchase. In 1974, Robert Hutchinson became aware that Margaret Thompson pledged the remaining pieces as collateral for a personal loan. Not until 1980, however, did Robert Hutchinson initiate legal action in which he claimed an alleged ownership interest in the art collection.
The appeal presently before us involves consideration of three separate lawsuits to differing degrees. In 1980, Robert Hutchinson filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment, Partition and Accounting against Margaret and Gordon Thompson in the Southern District of Indiana alleging that he had an ownership interest in the art collection. In this suit Robert Hutchinson requested a declaration of his interest in the art collection, an accounting for all items in the collection and any proceeds derived therefrom, and a partition of the collection. One year later, Robert Hutchinson filed an amended complaint adding Ira Spanierman and the Spanierman Gallery (purchasers of a majority of the art collection) as defendants. The Spanierman defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims filed against them for lack of personal jurisdiction, for failure to state a claim, and because the claims were timed barred. Margaret Thompson filed an answer claiming that Robert Hutchinson's claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations and by the doctrine of laches. She also asserted that she had obtained absolute title to the art collection by adverse possession. Margaret Thompson also filed a ...
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