Welpton v. Jameson, 43956
| Decision Date | 12 April 1954 |
| Docket Number | No. 43956,No. 2,43956,2 |
| Citation | 266 S.W.2d 594 |
| Parties | WELPTON v. JAMESON |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Everett E. Teel, Nevada, for appellants.
A. E. Elliott, Lynn M. Ewing, Nevada, for respondent, Ewing, Ewing & Ewing, Nevada, of counsel.
WESTHUES, Commissioner.
This is a suit to set aside two deeds executed by Phenia Floyd, deceased, conveying to the defendant two tracts of land in Vernon County, Missouri. Plaintiff, the sister and only heir of Phenia Floyd, charged fraud, undue influence, and lack of consideration as grounds to have the deeds annulled. The trial court granted plaintiff the relief prayed for and the defendant appealed.
Phenia Floyd, a single person, 79 years old, lived on an 80-acre tract of land near Nevada, Missouri. Mrs. Hattie Fredericks lived with her. On April 9, 1953, Miss Floyd had a fall and injured her hip. Dr. W. S. Love, who treated her, made several visits to her home. He testified that Miss Floyd did not want to go to a hospital or have X rays taken. In his opinion the injury consisted of a broken hip. On April 13, Miss Floyd was taken to the home of the defendant who claimed to be a 'Doctor of Swedish Massage.' The deceased remained with the defendant until her death on May 11, 1953. Dr. Love testified that he saw Miss Floyd a number of times at defendant's home and that about May 9 she grew much worse and died on May 11.
When Miss Floyd was taken to defendant's home, the defendant was paid $100 for a month's keep and also $30 for incidental expenses. Miss Floyd was in bed all of the time that she was at defendant's home.
On April 14, Miss Floyd requested a Mr. Story, who had taken the deceased to defendant's home, to ask Mr. A. E. Elliott, a lawyer, who had transacted business for the deceased, to come to see her. Mr. Elliott did so and a will was prepared by him. This will was signed by Miss Floyd with Mr. Elliott and the defendant signing as witnesses. Miss Floyd, by this will, devised her property to her sister for life and the remainder to the Methodist Church in Nevada and to the Methodist Orphan Home Association in St. Louis, Missouri.
The plaintiff was in a hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, at the time her sister was injured. She was brought to Nevada a few days before Miss Floyd died. Plaintiff was unable, due to her illness, to visit her sister. She testified that she heard of the fall and of her sister's being at defendant's home; that she wrote her sister a number of letters. It was in evidence that the two sisters were on very friendly terms and that they helped each other from time to time.
The lawyer who prepared the deeds at defendant's request was called as a witness for plaintiff. From his evidence we learn the following: The lawyer was a stranger to the deceased and had never attended to any legal matters for her. In fact, he did not know her. On May 4, the defendant went to the attorney's office with a description of a tract of land owned by Miss Floyd and informed him that Miss Floyd had requested that a deed be prepared conveying the land to the defendant. A deed was prepared and the attorney, as a notary public, filled out the acknowledgment on the deed and placed his notary seal thereon although he never saw or talked with Miss Floyd. He instructed the defendant to have Miss Floyd sign the deed in the presence of two witnesses. The deed was purported to have been signed by Miss Floyd but no witnesses' signatures appeared thereon. On May 6, the defendant again went to the office of the attorney with another description of property owned by Miss Floyd. The same procedure was followed in preparing a deed as that of May 4 with the same result. These are the two deeds sought to be set aside by this suit. The defendant also went to the lawyer's office with information as to the exact balance Miss Floyd had in a bank. A check was prepared payable to the defendant and the bank cashed the check, paying the defendant the amount thereof, that is, $1,283.44. The defendant and her husband also went to the home of Miss Floyd and carried away personal property consisting of a radio, furniture, a cow, a calf, feed, and other articles. What was left in Miss Floyd's home was valued at $148.25 in the inventory of her estate.
It is defendant's contention that Miss Floyd deeded the property to her under an agreement that the defendant was to care for the deceased for the balance of her life. The evidence to support such a contract was certainly not convincing. The trial court's comments concerning the witnesses who testified about such an agreement were as follows:
The record lends support to the trial judge's comments. Sophia Angel, age 86, was one of these witnesses. She lived at defendant's home. The evidence favorable to the defendant given by this witness was extracted by very leading questions, often suggesting the answer desired. It was defendant's contention that Miss Floyd tore up her will. Note the witness' evidence on this point:
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Polette v. Williams
...a suit to cancel a deed for fraud, undue influence, etc. This is not our precise point. Herrold v. Hart, Mo., 290 S.W.2d 49; Welpton v. Jameson, Mo., 266 S.W.2d 594. There is considerable disparity and some confusion in the cases. We have determined that the weight of authority and the bett......
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Board of Trustees of Methodist Church of Nevada v. Welpton
...and the absence of any consideration, upon a suit instituted by Kathleen Welpton. The decree was affirmed by this court. Welpton v. Jameson, Mo.Sup., 266 S.W.2d 594. It may also be noted that Mrs. Jameson, upon presentation of a check purportedly signed by Miss Floyd, withdrew all of the mo......
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McIntosh v. Dowdy, 42637
...Drake v. Greener, 523 S.W.2d 601, 606-07 (Mo.App.1975); whether the dispository scheme of the grantor was disrupted, Welpton v. Jameson, 266 S.W.2d 594, 596 (Mo.1954); whether the grantee was a natural object of grantor's bounty, Bolin v. Anders, 559 S.W.2d at 242; and any other facts that ......