Pine v. White

• Decision Date: 28 March 1900
• Parties: PINE et al. v. WHITE et al.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

175 Mass. 585

56 N.E. 967

PINE et al. v. WHITE et al.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk.

March 28, 1900

COUNSEL

Richard W. Hale and Frank W. Grinnell, for plaintiffs.

T. J Morrison, for defendant E. M. White.

C. C Barton, for defendant Fanny F. White.

OPINION

KNOWLTON J.

This is a suit in equity to charge a trustee for delinquency in the management of the trust estate. It comes before us on a report which shows certain special findings of fact in favor of each of the parties, and a general finding that on the whole evidence there should be a decree for the defendants.

A brick house in Boston had belonged to Caroline Pine, who had died intestate February 22, 1879, leaving her husband, James A Pine, and two sons, Harrington A. Pine and Henry C. Pine, of Worcester. Harrington A. Pine conveyed his interest in the house to his father, James A. Pine, who died on July 4, 1882, leaving a will by which he made one Newton his executor and trustee. Newton qualified as executor, but not as trustee, and died before August, 1884. His widow was appointed administrator of his estate soon after his death. On September 22, 1884, the defendant Edwin M. White was appointed trustee under the will of James A. Pine, and on November 17, 1884, administrator with said will annexed. The undivided half of the brick dwelling house in Boston conveyed by H. A. Pine to his father passed to the trustee under the residuary clause of the will, and formed a part of the trust estate when White was appointed trustee. Previous to the death of James A. Pine, Henry C. Pine had died intestate, without issue, leaving a widow, Agnes E. Pine. His estate was duly administered, and at the time of White's appointment the title to the brick dwelling house stood one-half in the trust estate, and one-half in Agnes E. Pine. There was no administration of the estate of Caroline Pine until January, 1885, when the defendant Edwin M. White was appointed administrator. Said White testified that on April 17, 1885, he had no notice of any debts of Caroline Pine; and Harrington A. Pine testified that he lived with his mother part of the time, and she did not, to his knowledge, leave any debts. E. M. White had no knowledge of the trust property until just before he was appointed trustee, and then only in connection with his appointment. This brick dwelling house was incapable of partition by metes and bounds. There was in the hands of Newton, executor of the estate of James A. Pine, $723.74, at the time of his death, as shown by his accounts, which was paid over to the defendant White on May 6, 1885, and which formed a part of the estate held by him under his trust. Agnes E. Pine lived in Worcester, and was connected with an opera company, and was away from her home much of the time. On April 17, 1885, she conveyed her undivided half of the brick dwelling house for $450, when its assessed value was $1,800, and its real value, as found by the judge, was $1,400. The deed was made to the defendant Edwin M. White, and on the same day another deed was made from him to his sister, Fanny F. White, the other defendant, who is found by the judge to have furnished the purchase money. Nearly 10 years afterwards Fanny F. White conveyed to one McIntosh, who on the same day conveyed in mortgage to the defendant Edwin M. White to secure the payment of $600 to him as trustee, and then conveyed the equity of redemption to said Edwin M. White. These last three deeds all bore date November 1, 1894, and were recorded March 9, 1895, and were parts of one transaction, which actually took place at about the latter date. McIntosh was a mere conduit to pass the title. The consideration which Fanny F. White received for the property was $1,400. On April 15, 1896, Edwin M. White conveyed the equity of redemption back to Fanny F. White, who still holds the title. In this last transaction the property was rated at the same price. Fanny F. White was a surety on the bond of her brother as trustee.

The plaintiffs contend that the trustee is chargeable for his failure to make this purchase as trustee, on the ground that he obtained knowledge of the ownership and the opportunity to buy at this low price through his relation to the estate as trustee that the nature of his interest in the house, as trustee, was such as to make it his duty to buy the other undivided half if he could at a reasonable price, in order to relieve the trust estate from the limitations which come from the ownership of only an undivided share in such property, and that he had at his command, or easily could have obtained from the administrator of Newton's executor, money belonging to the trust more than enough to pay for the half which was sold; that his sister, Fanny F. White, was chargeable with knowledge of his duties and liabilities as trustee; and, finally, that the relations of Fanny F. White to the property were colorable, and that he was the only real party...