Sleepy Hollow Ranch LLC v. Robinson

• Decision Date: 17 April 2012
• Docket Number: SD 30686.,SD 30687,Nos. SD 30657,SD 30666,s. SD 30657
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals
• Parties: SLEEPY HOLLOW RANCH LLC, and Estate of Buenos C. Blunk, and Buenos C. & Mary M. Blunk Living Trust, dtd 8–18–03, Appellants/Cross–Respondents, v. Priscilla ROBINSON, Respondent/Cross–Appellant, and Joe A. Blunk and Donna Blunk, Respondents.

373 S.W.3d 485

SLEEPY HOLLOW RANCH LLC, and Estate of Buenos C. Blunk, and Buenos C. & Mary M. Blunk Living Trust, dtd 8–18–03, Appellants/Cross–Respondents,

v.Priscilla ROBINSON, Respondent/Cross–Appellant,andJoe A. Blunk and Donna Blunk, Respondents.

Nos. SD 30657, SD 30687, SD 30666, SD 30686.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Southern District,

Division Two.

April 17, 2012.

Richard L. Schnake & Daniel K. Wooten, Neale & Newman, L.L.P., Springfield, and Timothy S. Davis, Branson, for Appellants.

Henry S. Clapper, Clapper & Harris, LLC, Branson, for Respondent Patricia Robinson.

Greggory D. Groves, Lowther Johnson, LLC, Springfield, for Respondents Blunk.

ROBERT S. BARNEY, Judge.

In this consolidated appeal, Sleepy Hollow Ranch, LLC, the Estate of Buenos (“Jim”) C. Blunk (“the Estate”), and the “[Jim] & Mary M. Blunk Living Trust, dtd 8–18–03” (“the Trust”) (collectively “Appellants”) appeal from the trial court's “AMENDED JUDGMENT.” ¹ They bring five points of trial court error based on the trial court's determination of issues in favor of Priscilla Robinson (“Ms. Robinson”) on Appellants' claims to set aside deeds to her made by Jim which granted fee simple title to the “Mark Twain house” and the “Homeplace” on the basis of her exercise of undue influence over Jim; on the basis of the invalidity of the deed transfer to the Homeplace originally made between Jim and the “College of the Ozarks,” a fictitious name for School of the Ozarks, Inc. (“the College”); and the determination that Joe (“Joe”) and Donna (“Donna”) Blunk (collectively “Respondents Blunk”) acquired fee simple title to the Homeplace by virtue of adverse possession. Further, Ms. Robinson appeals from the trial court's amended judgment and raises four points relied on premising error on the trial court's award of $100,000.00 in favor of Appellants on their claim she wrongfully took $100,000.00 in gold from Jim. She further premises error in the trial court's award of $2,500.00 to Appellants on their claim against her for the wrongful taking of a certain 1972 pickup truck and in finding that Respondents Blunk were entitled to fee simple ownership of the Homeplace based on adverse possession.

Viewing the record in the light most favorable to the trial court's judgment, Schroeder v. Proctor, 280 S.W.3d 724, 726 (Mo.App.2009), the record reveals Jim was Ms. Robinson's uncle. Jim and Ms. Robinson were close in the 1950's but did not have much contact again until the late 1990's.² At that time, Jim visited Ms. Robinson on two occasions at her home in Mississippi and she visited him at his home in Arizona on one occasion. At some point thereafter, Jim told Ms. Robinson he intended to purchase property in Missouri where he planned to reside, at least on a part-time basis; he invited her to live there with him; and requested she help in his care as he was suffering from prostate cancer. In September of 2004 Ms. Robinson went to Arizona, helped Jim pack his belongings, and when they returned to Missouri they moved into a home Jim had purchased in 2003, referred to in the record as the Mark Twain house.³ Jim was eighty-six years old at that time.

Jim rented a safety deposit box jointly with Ms. Robinson to which only they had access and the bank records reveal the box was only accessed by Ms. Robinson. Around the same time Jim opened a joint checking account with Ms. Robinson into which he deposited $50,000.00 from his account in Arizona. While Jim was away in Arizona, he instructed Ms. Robinson to pay his bills and other expenses from this account and she did so. During this period of time, Jim stayed at the Mark Twain house “off and on” with Ms. Robinson taking care of the property and the animals when he was away.

On May 2, 2004, Jim entered into a written option to buy the second piece of property at issue in this lawsuit which is referred to in the record as the Homeplace. The Homeplace had previously been in the family for a number of years and Jim's brother, Oren Blunk (“Oren”), had previously owned it.

In 1976, Oren's son and his wife, Respondents Blunk, moved into a home on the 77.5 acre Homeplace. Respondents Blunk never received title to the property as it passed upon Oren's death to Tessie Lombard (“Tessie”), sister to Oren and Jim. Respondents Blunk continued living on the Homeplace despite certain issues that had arisen with Tessie, and they remained on the property even after it was deeded by Tessie on October 3, 1998, to the College. On November 17, 1998, the College notified Respondents Blunk that they needed to lease or rent the property or the College would be forced to explore “other options.” After several years of negotiations, Jim apparently intervened in the situation and signed a five year lease on the Homeplace with the College.

In April of 2005, Jim moved the majority of his belongings from Arizona to the Mark Twain house and began residing there full-time. On May 6, 2005, Jim then executed his option to purchase with the College and purchased the Homeplace for $85,000.00. The grantor on this deed was “School of the Ozarks, Inc., d/b/a College of the Ozarks” and the grantee was “Sleepy Hollow Ranch.” Articles of Incorporation for Sleepy Hollow Ranch, LLC were then filed two months later on July 8, 2005. In October of that year, Jim instituted eviction proceedings against Respondents Blunk to remove them from the Homeplace by way of an action for ejectment and trespass.⁴

Also in 2005, Jim became involved with a woman from Arkansas, Shirley Peglar (“Shirley”), and the two went on several extended vacations prior to purchasing a home together in Arkansas at some point in time that year. After returning from a cruise and a trip to Arizona with Shirley in the beginning of January of 2006, Jim became concerned that Shirley would “attach herself” to his assets. As a result, he phoned Ms. Robinson or Mrs. Howard in late January and asked them to aid in his return to Missouri. The record shows that when Jim returned from Arkansas, he “was not in good shape.” He was dehydrated, had poor balance, and his diagnosed prostate cancer was taking its toll on his overall health; however, his mental acuity was apparently intact. Ms. Robinson and Mrs. Howard then took certain steps, purportedly at Jim's request, to “protect” his assets from Shirley, whom they believed had been taking advantage of Jim. Ms. Robinson and Mrs. Howard cancelled his credit cards, changed his checking account information, and removed items from the safety deposit box.⁵ Jim executed a durable power of attorney at that time granting Mrs. Howard power of attorney upon his disability. On January 26, 2006, Jim was transported by ambulance to Skaggs hospital for severe back pain and dehydration.

On February 15, 2006, Mrs. Howard drove Jim to the office of his attorney, Russ Schenewerk (“Mr. Schenewerk”), and informed Mr. Schenewerk that Jim wanted to deed the Homeplace and the Mark Twain house to Ms. Robinson. After speaking with Jim and deciding that such an action was not what Jim truly desired, Mr. Schenewerk declined to prepare the deeds although he noted Jim appeared mentally competent on that day.

Two days later Jim received the results of medical tests that had been performed earlier in the week. He was told on February 17, 2006, that he had “widespread bony metastisis consistent with ... history of prostate [cancer]” and was advised that he needed to look into hospice care. On February 21, 2006, Ms. Robinson took Jim to see attorney George Scott (“Mr. Scott”) about deeding the Homeplace and the Mark Twain house to Ms. Robinson. Mr. Scott interviewed Jim; found him to be mentally competent; determined he desired to execute the aforementioned deeds; and prepared the deeds in accordance with Jim's request. The deeds were then executedin favor of Ms. Robinson.⁶ Around the same time, due to telephone conversations with Jim, Lance Mallow (“Mr. Mallow”), Jim's great nephew, and Jim's sister, Edyth Rahas (“Ms. Rahas”), were growing suspicious of the care Jim was receiving at the hands of Ms. Robinson and Mrs. Howard. Mr. Mallow and Ms. Rahas suspected Ms. Robinson and Mrs. Howard were over-medicating Jim and taking advantage of his wealth. After discussions with Brenda Harms (“Ms. Harms”), a long time friend of the family, it was determined they would remove Jim from Missouri and fly him for treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. On February 25, 2006, Ms. Harms flew to Springfield, Missouri; picked up Jim; and flew him back to Phoenix where he was hospitalized for five days. Upon his release from the hospital, Jim moved into a home next door to Ms. Harms.

On March 8, 2006, just weeks after having conveyed both the Homeplace and the Mark Twain house to Ms. Robinson, Jim executed a new will that included a lengthy amendment to the Trust; appointed Mr. Mallow and Ms. Harms as successor co-trustees; declared that he had been “under the influence of certain family members and individuals” that “may have unduly influenced [him]” such that he desired to “revoke and/or modify” the Trust; and specifically set forth that Ms. Robinson “shall NOT receive any property and/or assets [or] cash, of any nature whatsoever, at any time and under any circumstances” from the Trust or the Estate. Jim continued to reside in Arizona until his death on May 10, 2006. This litigation was thereafter initiated.⁷

The trial in these matters was held on January 5 and 6, 2010. At the close of all the evidence the trial court took the matter under advisement. On June 21, 2010, the trial court entered its lengthy “AMENDED JUDGMENT.”

In part pertinent to our review, the amended judgment found Appellants failed to meet their burden of proving the deeds at issue should be set aside for undue influence or lack of capacity. However, the trial court determined Appellants were entitled to a judgment against Ms. Robinson for “possession of the 1969 Volkswagon and the 1979 Ford Pickup, and monetary...