Klundt v. Pfeifle

• Decision Date: 23 February 1950
• Docket Number: No. 7121,7121
• Citation: 77 N.D. 132,41 N.W.2d 416
• Parties: KLUNDT v. PFEIFLE.
• Court: North Dakota Supreme Court

Page 416

41 N.W.2d 416

77 N.D. 132

KLUNDT v. PFEIFLE.

No. 7121.

Supreme Court of North Dakota.

Feb. 23, 1950.

Syllabus by the Court.

1. A party who seeks to have certain deeds declared invalid, upon the ground that they were not executed by the named grantor, has the burden of proving that the named grantor did not execute the deeds.

2. Before a deed, which is regular on its face and bears a certificate of acknowledgment executed by a notary public in the form prescribed by R.C. 1943, 47-1927, will be declared invalid upon the ground that the named grantor did not execute the same, the proof that such named grantor did not execute the deed must be clear and convincing.

3. The credibility of witnesses, including handwriting experts, and the weight to be given their testimony, is for the trier of facts.

4. Upon a trial de novo, under the provisions of R.C. 1943, 28-2732, the Supreme Court must ascertain the facts from the record before it, but, in making its determination, the findings of fact of the trial court are entitled to appreciable weight.

5. The evidence is considered and it is held, for reasons stated in the opinion, that the findings of fact of the trial court in this case are sustained by the evidence.

Rittgers & Hjellum, Jamestown, for appellant.

J. A. Coffey, Jamestown, for respondent.

GRONNA, District Judge.

This action to quiet title is here for trial de novo. On July 1, 1947, the plaintiff, Margaretha Klundt Hoffman, a widow, age 76, commenced this action against her only daughter, Christina Pfeifle, the defendant, a widow, age 52. Each party claimed to be the owner of the real estate involved, all of which is situated in Stutsman County and represented all of the mother's property holdings.

The defendant alleges that she obtained title through conveyances from her mother, namely, three deeds, exhibits 1, 2 and 3, one of which, exhibit 1, was allegedly executed in 1944 and the other two on different dates in 1946, and all were allegedly acknowledged before the same notary public.

The principal issue is whether the alleged grantor signed the three deeds. Plaintiff denies the execution of the deeds, and, accordingly, the burden is upon the plaintiff to prove this negative issue. 20 Am.Jur., Evidence, sec. 139; 31 C.J.S., Evidence, Sec. 112. There was a sharp conflict in the testimony upon this issue. The trial court resolved the conflict in favor of the grantee (daughter) by finding that the grantor (mother) had, in fact, signed the deeds and acknowledged her signature before a notary public.

On July 14, 1947, because of advanced age, overweight, and physical infirmities (aggravated by a broken leg in 1943 which disabled her from walking normally), the deposition of the mother was taken at Streeter, Stutsman County, in the home of her only son.

The mother died on August 29, 1947, and her son, Henry Klundt, Jr., age 49, was appointed the executor of her will (dated July 1, 1947) and was substituted as plaintiff herein. If the mother had died intestate, she would have been survived by five heirs at law, namely, the son, daughter and three grandchildren. The will devised and bequeathed all of the mother's estate to her son and his wife and three grandchildren, the children of her deceased son, George.

Exhibit 1 is dated December 4, 1944, and purpots to convey 160 acres, title to which the mother had acquired in 1942. Exhibit 2 is dated April 22, 1946, and purports to convey 640 acres, of which, the grantor (mother) was the owner of an undivided one-third interest which, in 1946, was decreed to her from the estate of her first husband. Exhibits 1 and 2 were recorded with the Register of Deeds on September 20, 1946.

Exhibit 3 is dated February 11, 1946, and purports to convey to the daughter, a house and six lots in the village of Medina, which was the grantor's (mother's) home, title to which had previously been vested in her second husband, Peter Hoffman, Sr., subject to a lien of over $2,125 for old age assistance, and which encumbrance exceeded the value of the property. In 1944 the daughter paid $1127 for a satisfaction of this lien. In 1946 she paid $126.30 for a tax deed from Stutsman County to the mother.

The trial of this case in the district court was held in January, 1948. On March 18, 1948, judgment was rendered in favor of the defendant, Christina Pfeifle. Plaintiff appealed and on December 7, 1948, the appeal was argued. On March 22, 1949, this court ordered the case remanded for the taking of further evidence. On May 26, 1949, the district court heard further evidence and thereafter made additional findings of fact and conclusions of law, adhering to his former decision in the case. In October, 1949, the remanded record was returned to this court together with the additional record, including new exhibits and typewritten transcript of the additional evidence. Additional briefs were filed by counsel for both parties.

The mother was born in Russia. She had received very little school education there, and did not attend school after arriving in America. Except for a few words of broken English, she spoke, wrote and understood only the German language.

Her first husband, Henry Klundt, Sr. (the father of plaintiff and defendant) died on April 11, 1935, and in the same year, she was appointed administratrix of his estate. In January, 1940, she married Peter Hoffman, age 74, an Old Age Assistance client of Stutsman County. He died on May 31, 1943, and she was appointed administratrix of his estate in November, 1943.

There is a considerable amount of conflicting testimony as to circumstances bearing upon the collateral or evidentiary issues as to whether the mother had previously stated her intentions of conveying to her daughter, and whether the daughter had advanced her own money in behalf of her mother for which she was entitled to be reimbursed by her mother, and whether the mother had requested the daughter to live with and care for her. These evidentiary issues are not ultimate issues, although they are relevant to the ultimate issue of whether the disputed signatures are genuine.

The daughter testified that in August, 1941, her mother asked her for help in taking care of her and her husband, and as an inducement, she offered to convey all of her property to the daughter in the event that she would give up her home in Streeter and live with the mother in Medina. In her deposition, the mother denied that she requested her daughter to come and live with her, and also denied that she ever agreed to convey her property to her daughter. However, the facts are that not only did the daughter sell her home and other property in Streeter and move to Medina, but, moreover, she took the best of care of her invalid mother for nearly six years, from August 1941, to May 1947. During this time Christina acted as nurse and housekeeper for her mother and, until he died, for Peter Hoffman, who was also helpless. Christina raised chickens, planted and cultivated the garden. She transacted her mother's business affairs. The mother was competent to discuss and understand them but was physically disabled. So the mother merely discussed her business affairs, and signed the numerous business papers as requested by Christina. The mother's personal physician, who was well acquainted with the situation, testified:

'Q. Dr. Stokes, did you have something to do with taking care of her during her life time and during her last year? A. Off and on, all the time in Streeter, but particularly during the last two and a half years of her life, I had more to do with her than ever before.

'Q. What was her physical condition? A. She had a carditis heart. It goes back, probably, as a result of high blood pressure in earlier years. Then when the blood pressure goes down, the heart plays out.

'Q. What condition did this leave her in? A. Helpless. When the heart attacks came and the heart goes bad, she would get dropsy and she couldn't handle herself. She couldn't sleep or anything else. * * *

'Q. I ask you to tell the Court whether or not Mrs. Pfeifle took good care of her mother? A. No one could have been better. The house was clean and spotless, and the bed linen was clean and spotless, and she was always ready to wait on her, day or night, and she did have to wait on her day and night. * * *

'The Court: Did she require services similar to those at a hospital? A. Yes, she was in bed for months at a time. When she had her broken limb, she didn't get out of bed for a couple of years; then she got to struggling around with a crutch and cane, but even then, at the best, she would spend eighteen hours in bed, or lying down when not in bed.'

Shortly before the first of May the mother went to her son's home at Streeter for a visit only, returning to Medina about May 5. On May 9, 1947, Dr. Stokes transported the mother from Medina to her son's home at Streeter and there she lived the remaining months of her life. It is not clear why she left, although in her deposition she gave as her reason that Christina was 'mean' to her. The proof, however, is to the contrary. She also testified that, about the time she left, she learned for the first time of the existence of the deeds from neighbors who had read in the newspaper of their recording. But the deeds had been recorded during the previous year. Some light is thrown on this strange situation by the testimony of Dr. Stokes:

'Q. Do you remember about the time that Mrs. Klundt left Medina and went to Streeter? A. I took her down. I wanted her to go to the hospital--I repeatedly wanted her to go to the hospital to save Christina--Christina was worked to death. I don't know whether you people understand what it was for one person to take care of a sick person year after year. A few days is not bad but dragging on month after month--I wanted Mrs. Klundt to go to the hospital but she would never go. Then when the final blowup came--I don't know what...