Knigge v. Dencker, 48737

• Decision Date: 18 October 1955
• Docket Number: No. 48737,48737
• Citation: 246 Iowa 1387,72 N.W.2d 494
• Parties: Anna KNIGGE, Appellant, v. Rajahneen Lee Knigge DENCKER and Carl Dencker, Appellees. Anna KNIGGE, Appellant, v. Rajahneen Lee Knigge DENCKER and Carl Dencker, Appellees.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 494

72 N.W.2d 494

246 Iowa 1387

Anna KNIGGE, Appellant, v. Rajahneen Lee Knigge DENCKER and Carl Dencker, Appellees.

Anna KNIGGE, Appellant, v. Rajahneen Lee Knigge DENCKER and Carl Dencker, Appellees.

No. 48737.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Oct. 18, 1955.

Bradshaw & Crawford, Fort Dodge, for appellant.

Arthur H. Johnson, Fort Dodge, for appellees.

THOMPSON, Justice.

This appeal concerns two actions, in each of which the plaintiff and the defendants are identical. One action was in replevin in which the plaintiff claimed the right to possession of an abstract of title to certain real estate, a typewriter, and a United States government bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to the plaintiff Anna Knigge or the defendant Rajahneen Lee Knigge Dencker. The other action asked that a deed to certain real estate in the City of Fort Dodge be set aside and cancelled. Although the replevin suit was at law and the action to set aside the deed in equity, the causes were consolidated for trial. Apparently they were tried in equity. It is plaintiff's contention, with which we agree, that upon this appeal we should try the replevin issues de novo as well as those involved in the other suit. McCulloch Inv. Co. v. Spencer, Iowa, 67 N.W.2d 924, 925, 926, and cases cited.

I. We shall consider first the action to set aside the deed. The realty involved is a residence property in Fort Dodge which was the homestead of plaintiff and her husband, W. C. Knigge. The defendant Rajahneen Lee Knigge Dencker is a granddaughter of the plaintiff and W. C. Knigge; the other defendant, Carl Dencker, being her husband. Since Rajahneen Lee Knigge Dencker is the principal defendant in that most of the evidence revolves around her relations and dealings with her grandparents, we shall hereafter refer to her as the defendant. The Knigges were elderly people at the time of the happenings material herein, each being in the neighborhood of 75 years of age. They had five children--Marie, Cecelia, Louise, Carl and Opal. The defendant is a daughter of Louise, and was born to her out of wedlock. The Knigges took her into their home when she was five weeks old, and from that time on cared for her, raised her and educated her until she was married to Carl Dencker on September 9, 1953. She was past nineteen years of age at the time.

The plaintiff and her husband were hard working and thrifty people, of German descent. The plaintiff was born in Iowa. Apparently she first learned to speak German, but she learned English and was able to speak, read, write and understand it. Her testimony as shown by the printed record gives no indication of any difficulty in this regard. Neither of the Knigges had more than a limited grade school education.

In 1953, W. C. Knigge was in failing health. He had suffered for several years from stomach ulcers and had had two operations to remedy prostate trouble. He held the legal title to the real estate in question at the time the deed in controversy was made, on June 1, 1953, plaintiff having only a contingent right of dower. W. C. Knigge died in a Fort Dodge hospital on July 14, 1953, apparently from cancer of the stomach. What interest plaintiff now has in the property if the deed is void is not entirely clear, but the question is not raised and we give it no attention.

The record indicates that the defendant had lived in the Knigge home all her life, and in every respect occupied the position of a daughter. There is substantial evidence that at least the usual affection between parents and daughter existed here.

W. C. Knigge was taken to the hospital on May 20, 1953, and with the exception of one short visit to his home on Father's Day remained there until his death. The defendant was at the time engaged to marry Carl Dencker, but no date had been fixed for the wedding. She believed--she says she had been told--that she was to be given the homestead property upon the death of the Knigges. There is substantial testimony from Carl Knigge and Francis Mullen to the same effect. When Mr. Knigge's health was obviously failing, it was apparently brought to the attention of Mrs. Dencker, the mother of defendant's fiance, that the defendant had been assured she would be given the homestead. This led to a call by Mrs. Dencker upon the plaintiff in which the matter was discussed. Mrs. Knigge herself says the defendant had on two or three occasions importuned her to execute a deed. This the defendant denies. But in any event, mere importunity that does not go to the extent of controlling the will of the grantor does not establish undue influence. Arndt v. Lapel, 214 Iowa 594, 605, 243 N.W. 605, 610.

It appears that the plaintiff agreed, under some protest, she says, to talk over the matter with Francis Mullen, a former practicing lawyer in Fort Dodge, who was suggested by Mrs. Dencker. Shortly thereafter Mullen called at plaintiff's home and went over the situation with her. There is some dispute concerning some of the details of the conversation, to which reference will be made later. The result was, however, that on June 1, 1953, Mullen called at the hospital where W. C. Knigge was confined. Mullen was accompanied by A. C. Braginton, an attorney practicing at Manson. The plaintiff was also present. At that time the deed in question was executed, conveying the residence property occupied by the Knigges to the defendant and Carl Dencker, to whom she is now married. The deed reserved a life estate in the Knigges until the death of the survivor. Wills were also executed on this occasion by each of the Knigges. Each will gave all the property of the testator to the spouse, if he or she survived; and thereafter to the defendant.

II. It is somewhat difficult to determine the exact basis of plaintiff's allegations which she thinks entitle her to have the deed cancelled. The petition seems to claim duress, deceit, misrepresentations amounting to actual fraud, undue influence and perhaps lack of mental capacity of W. C. Knigge at the time the instrument was signed. However, by motion for new trial after the trial court had handed down its judgment, plaintiff injected the claim of confidential or fiduciary relationship of the parties such as to throw the burden of proving the bona fides of the transaction upon the defendant. The defendant says this was an afterthought, and was never pleaded or urged upon the trial court until the motion for new trial. However that may be, we find no difficulty in disposing of the issue. The law which says the dominant party in a confidential relationship must bear the burden of proving that any transaction with the weaker one was in all respects fair and free from fraud, is well settled in Iowa. Curtis v. Armagast, 158 Iowa 507, 138 N.W. 873; Merritt v. Easterly, 226 Iowa 514, 284 N.W. 397; In re Estate of Lundvall, 242 Iowa 430, 46 N.W.2d 535, and many other cases have determined this point.

But we agree with the trial court that there is no showing of a relation here between the plaintiff and defendant in which the defendant played the dominating part. The court said of the plaintiff: 'She is a very strong-willed individual, almost contentious, and undoubtedly was the dominant personality in the household.' The record fully supports this finding. The defendant had never handled business affairs for her grandparents or advised them concerning them. There is no showing whatever that she dominated them, or that they relied upon her in any way in financial or property matters. It is true the plaintiff pleads the defendant 'struck and bruised the plaintiff on many occasions and threatened her with great bodily harm if she did not sign the instrument as prepared.' There is an entire lack of evidence to support these allegations, and the wanton and unsupported charge does considerable damage to the credibility of the plaintiff's testimony in other respects.

In Merritt v. Easterly, supra, at page 519 of 226 Iowa, at page 400 of 284 N.W., Justice Bliss, speaking for the court quoted with approval from Utterback v. Hollingsworth, 208 Iowa 300, 302, 303, 225 N.W. 419, 421:

"The relationship must be such as to enable the one charged with having abused it, to have exercised it to his advantage. It must appear expressly or by implication that trust or confidence was reposed. The supposed trustee must be shown to have been in a position of advantage or superiority such as to imply a dominating influence over the cestui."

The plaintiff's own dominating characteristics are abundantly apparent throughout the record. She was the captain of her ship; she made her own decisions.

III. We turn then to the claim of active fraud. It is difficult to say in just what way the plaintiff claims she was deceived. She says she agreed to talk with Mr. Mullen after Mrs. Dencker had told her others might overcharge her. She had only a slight acquaintance with Mrs. Dencker. Of this conversation, plaintiff says: 'I said 'We have a will', and she said 'The will won't go. All you have to do is make a deed and deed it to Rajahneen and the thing would be settled.' So I thought that would all be done for, that would be all right and that is what we made.' On cross-examination she testified: 'I was there when he signed it (the deed), but I did nothing because they told me the deed was all I needed so that it would be all settled, so the Denckers wouldn't have to pay probating or inheritance taxes. I signed, and I let my husband sign the deed because I was told that before the will was signed the deed should be signed.' It seems clear the plaintiff knew she was signing a deed; in fact, she and her husband had had previous experience when they deeded a residence property to the children of their son Carl, in 1951.

There is some testimony as to the mental weakness of W. C. Knigge on the date the deed was signed. The plaintiff does not plead mental incapacity of W. C. Knigge, the holder of the legal title at the time of the...