Robinson v. Boyd

• Decision Date: 01 June 1893
• Citation: 23 S.W. 72,93 Tenn. 1
• Parties: ROBINSON et al. v. BOYD et al. ROBINSON v. ROBINSON et al.
• Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

23 S.W. 72

93 Tenn. 1

ROBINSON et al. v. BOYD et al.

ROBINSON v. ROBINSON et al.

Supreme Court of Tennessee.

June 1, 1893

Appeal from chancery court, Shelby county; W. D. Beard, Chancellor.

Bill by Alston Boyd and wife, Leila R. Boyd; Alston Boyd as administrator de bonis non of John B. Robinson, deceased, and of William H. Robinson, deceased; and Alston Boyd as the next friend of his five minor children, Bessie, Mary, Alston, Jr Leila, and Martha Boyd,-against Eula C. Robinson (now Farnsworth) in her own right, and against Eula C. Robinson and L. B. McFarland as executrix and executor of John B Robinson, Jr., deceased,-to obtain a construction of the wills of John B. Robinson, Sr., and William H. Robinson, and that the limitations over in said will to complainants be declared valid, and that complainants be put into possession of the estates of John B. Robinson, Jr., and William H Robinson, and for other relief. Annie Douglas Robinson was subsequently made a party defendant. From the decree, Eula C Robinson individually and as executrix of John B. Robinson, Jr., and L. B. McFarland as executor, appealed. The Boyds and Annie Douglas Robinson made assignments of error. Modified.

Bill by Annie D. Robinson, by her next friend, against Eula C. Robinson and others. for a writ of possession of certain land and for an accounting, etc. From the decree, Annie D. Robinson appeals. Affirmed.

The two cases were heard together.

Metcalf & Walker, for appellant, Annie D. Robinson.

Malone & Malone and B. M. Estes, for complainant Boyd.

Morgan & McFarland, Wurly & Wright, M. B. Trezvant, and Metcalf & Walker, for defendant Eula C. Robinson.

Morgan & McFarland and B. M. Estes, for appellee E. C. Robinson.

WILKES J.

The main question of this first-named clause is to have the court construe the wills of John B. and William H. Robinson, devising property valued at over $100,000. The original bill was filed by Alston Boyd and wife, Leila R. Boyd, Alston Boyd as administrator de bonis non of John B. Robinson, deceased, and of William H. Robinson, deceased, and by Alston Boyd as the next friend of his five minor children, namely, Bessie, Mary, Alston, Jr., Leila, and Martha Boyd, against Eula C. Robinson (now Farnsworth) in her own right, and against Eula C. Robinson (now Farnsworth) and L. B. McFarland as executrix and executor of John B. Robinson, Jr., deceased. The bill was sworn to by Alston Boyd on October 16, 1889, and on the same day a motion was made for an injunction restraining the defendant from removing or opening the iron safe of W. H. Robinson, and removing therefrom all of the valuable papers of W. H. Robinson and John B. Robinson, Sr. Upon hearing the application on October 17, 1889, the chancellor overruled the motion for an injunction. As no injunction was obtained, complainants prepared an amendment to the original bill, and the two, being attached, were together filed as one bill on January 15, 1890. The complainants averred that John B. Robinson died in 1885, having first made his will, by which he directed as follows: "Item 2. I give and bequeath all my estate, real and personal, of every description, and whereever situated, absolutely to my sons William Henry Robinson and John Beverly Robinson, Jr., to be equally divided between them. In case of the death of either of my sons before my death, leaving children born in lawful wedlock, then his share to his child or children, as the case may be; but in the event of the death of either of my two sons before reaching his majority, or in the event of his dying intestate and without children born in lawful wedlock, then his share to his surviving brother. Item 3. In case of the death of both of my said sons, neither leaving children born in lawful wedlock, then I give my whole estate to my daughter, Mrs. Leila Boyd; the personalty to her absolutely, the realty to her sole and separate use for life, with remainder over to her children." That his two sons mentioned in this item of the will had both died without any children, and therefore complainants were entitled to the estate of John B. Robinson, Sr. That William H. Robinson died two years after the death of his father, namely, in 1887, having first made his will, the second item of which is in these words: "Second. I give all of my estate of every kind, real and personal, and wherever situated, to my brother Jno. B. Robinson, and his lawful heirs. If he dies without such heirs, then I give everything to my sister, Leila Boyd; the personalty to her absolutely, and the realty to her for life, with remainder over to her children." That the said John B. Robinson, Jr., mentioned in this item of the will, had, two years after the death of his brother, namely, 1889, died, without leaving any child him surviving, no child ever having been born to him. Wherefore Mrs. Boyd and her children claim that under this section of the will of W. H. Robinson they were entitled to all of the estate of which W. H. Robinson died seised and possessed.

The bill further avers that the said John B. Robinson, Jr., by his last will, devised everything of which he was possessed to his wife, Eula C. Robinson, (now Farnsworth,) and that the said John B. Robinson, Jr., being in possession of the estate of his father, John B. Robinson, Sr., and his brother W. H. Robinson, under their wills, the possession passed to the said Eula C. Robinson, (now Farnsworth,) who refused to give possession to the complainants to any part of the estates either of John B. Robinson, Sr., or W. H. Robinson; she insisting that the limitations over in the wills of these two testators in favor of Mrs. Boyd and her children were void, and that John B. Robinson, Jr., took a fee both in the estate of his father and his brother. The bill avers that John B. Robinson, Sr., was a man of great prudence, and skilled in business affairs, and that, having received by his wife, (Mrs. Boyd's mother,) soon after his marriage, some $10,000 in cash, and using this as a nucleus, he had from time to time invested and reinvested, and by his speculations and trades had accumulated a large estate; and that in the fifties he began taking title to this property, either in his name, as trustee for his wife and children, or else had conveyances made to his wife for her life, with remainders over to his children and their children, upon certain conditions and limitations; while other property, and notably the Planters' Insurance property, and the property on Vance street, was conveyed by John B. Robinson, Sr., directly and unconditionally to his children in the year 1875.

In 1873, Leila Boyd intermarried with Alston Boyd, by whom she had five children, all living at the date of the filing of the bill, and two of whom had been born prior to the year 1877. In April, 1877, a family settlement was had with regard to the entire trust estate, the immediate cause of the settlement being an application of Mr. and Mrs. Alston Boyd to have set apart to Mrs. Boyd in severalty her one-fourth of the trust estate, there being at that time four children of John B. Robinson, Sr., namely, John Douglass Robinson, Leila R. Boyd, William H. Robinson, and John B. Robinson, Jr. At this date Douglass and Leila were over 21 years of age; W. H. was 20, and John B., Jr., was 13 years of age. Valuations were put upon all of the trust estate, and the indebtedness of the estate was then set out, amounting to something over $10,000. Mrs. Boyd was required to account for what she had theretofore received. John B. Robinson, Sr., put in certain personal property disclosed by the bill, and insisted that as to a part of the property he had a life estate, and that as to all of the property he had a right to control it as one estate during his life. Considerable irritation arose out of the different views and contentions of the parties, but the result was a strictly family settlement, by the terms of which each child was to take one-fifth of the entire trust estate, and assume one-fifth of the debts of the estate; and John B. Robinson, Sr., was to take one-fifth of the entire trust estate, and assume one-fifth of the debts. In other words, instead of the estate being divided into four parts between the four children of John B. Robinson, Sr., John B. Robinson, Sr., was to get a child's part of the estate, and the estate was divided into five equal parts.

A bill was filed in the name of John B. Robinson, Sr., Alston Boyd and his wife, Leila, in order to ratify and confirm the family settlement, and to have set apart to Leila Boyd one-fifth of the estate, she having selected the house and lot on Front street as her one-fifth of the entire estate and agreed to pay her father $4,400 in order to equalize her share with the others, which she afterwards did. That while the agreement was in fact that Mrs. Boyd should receive only one-fifth, and while she only received this amount, yet the chancery proceedings were so conducted as to make it appear to the court that she was in truth receiving one-fourth thereof. Upon the death of Douglass Robinson litigation sprung up between John B. Robinson, Sr., and his two sons on the one side and Annie D. Robinson, the widow of Douglass, on the other, in which John B. Robinson, Sr., and his two sons John B., Jr., and William H. filed a cross bill, in which they set up the terms of the family settlement of 1877, and averred that by and under that settlement John B. Robinson, Sr., was possessed with a child's part of the estate, and averring that after the setting apart of Leila Boyd of the Front street house the entire trust estate was owned equally by the three children and their father; and the cross complainants prayed a partition of the estate in these proportions. That in this cause (to which...