Wright v. Roberts

• Citation: 797 So.2d 992
• Decision Date: 11 October 2001
• Docket Number: No. 1999-CA-00140-SCT.,1999-CA-00140-SCT.
• Parties: Homan WRIGHT, Individually, and In His Capacity as Administrator of the Estate of Emma Jane Jones Wright v. Mamie K. ROBERTS.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi

797 So.2d 992

Homan WRIGHT, Individually, and In His Capacity as Administrator of the Estate of Emma Jane Jones Wright v. Mamie K. ROBERTS.

No. 1999-CA-00140-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

October 11, 2001.

Raymond G. O'Neal, III, Fulton, Robert Don. Baker, Aberdeen, for Appellant.

C. Michael Malski, Amory, for Appellee.

EN BANC.

COBB, Justice, for the Court:

¶ 1. In December of 1995, attorney Armon Lee prepared wills, a deed, and powers of attorney for Emma Jane Wright and her husband, Homan Wright. Homan signed his will and power of attorney on December 28, 1995, at Lee's law office. Emma Jane signed the deed, her will, and her power of attorney on January 2, 1996, while on her eventual death bed.

¶ 2. The deed conveyed, to the exclusion of her husband Homan, Emma Jane's two-thirds interest in 200 acres of timber in fee simple to Mamie Roberts, a cousin by marriage, and reserved a life estate in a house and one acre of land surrounding the house for Emma Jane and Homan. Emma Jane's will conveyed all of her remaining property to Roberts, in trust for the care of Homan, then to Roberts and to Roberts's children upon Homan's death. Homan's will had parallel provisions. The attorney was not present when Emma Jane signed the instruments. One of the attesting witnesses to Emma Jane's will was the attorney's secretary. The other attesting witness noted on her affidavit that neither the secretary nor Emma Jane identified the document she signed as a will, rather it was referred to as "papers to take care of Homan Wright". She also marked through on the affidavit the part which said "Emma Jane was of sound and disposing mind."

¶ 3. The powers of attorney gave Roberts complete power to run the Wrights' affairs. Attorney Lee had been Roberts's attorney over the years, having done extensive land transaction work for Roberts and her son. Attorney Lee predeceased Emma Jane.

¶ 4. Emma Jane died on January 22, 1996, and a week later, Homan filed suit to set aside the deed and to contest the will which Emma Jane executed. On May 27, 1997, Roberts presented the will for probate and the cases were later consolidated The matter was continued twice because Roberts was hospitalized, and it eventually was heard in August of 1998.

¶ 5. The Chancellor issued his opinion on December 30, 1998, finding the following:

1. A confidential relationship did not exist between Roberts and the Wrights.

2. Even if a confidential relationship existed, Roberts's action of taking all of Emma Jane's real property did not over-reach or abuse her authority as the dominant party to the relationship.

3. Although Emma Jane stated specific items which were inconsistent with the instruments which were executed, she knew the objects of her bounty and the quantity of her estate and had testamentary capacity.

4. Although Dr. Coghlan examined Emma Jane shortly before the execution of the documents and stated her condition at that time as "senile" and suffering from other ailments, such did not meet the legal criteria of lack of capacity.

5. There were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the execution of the documents.

Aggrieved, Homan Wright brings this appeal raising the following six issues:

I. THE CHANCERY COURT MANIFESTLY ERRED IN NOT FINDING SPECIFICALLY THAT A FIDUCIARY OR CONFIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP EXISTED BETWEEN EMMA JANE AND HOMAN WRIGHT AND MAMIE ROBERTS AND THAT POWERS

OF ATTORNEY SIGNED BY THEM INTERPOSED NO CONFIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE THEY WERE SET UP ONLY TO PROTECT THE ATTORNEY IN FACT, MAMIE ROBERTS.

II. THE CHANCERY COURT MANIFESTLY ERRED IN FAILING TO APPLY THE CORRECT STANDARD, IN THAT THE EXISTENCE OF A CONFIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIP REQUIRED INDEPENDENT COUNSELING FOR BOTH HOMAN WRIGHT AND EMMA JANE WRIGHT.

III. THE CHANCERY COURT MANIFESTLY ERRED IN FINDING THAT MAMIE ROBERTS DID NOT OVERREACH OR ABUSE HER AUTHORITY AND THAT THE ONLY THINGS DONE WERE FOR EMMA JANE'S BENEFIT.

IV. THE CHANCERY COURT MANIFESTLY ERRED IN FINDING THAT NO "SUSPICIOUS" FACTS EXIST SURROUNDING THE EXECUTION OF THE DOCUMENTS.

V. THE CHANCERY COURT MANIFESTLY ERRED IN FINDING THAT THE ONLY EVIDENCE OF LACK OF CAPACITY WAS THE TESTIMONY OF DR. COUGHLAN AND THAT DID NOT RISE TO THE REQUISITE LEVEL OF PROOF.

VI. THE CHANCERY COURT MANIFESTLY ERRED IN FINDING THAT EMMA JANE KNEW THE QUANTITY OF HER ESTATE.

¶ 6. Because we determine that the chancellor abused his discretion and committed manifest error, we reverse and render in part and remand in part.

FACTS

¶ 7. Emma Jane and Homan Wright lived in an old frame house which she had inherited from her father. They did not have the amenities of an air-conditioner, hot water, telephone or bathroom (only an outhouse). They had married late in life and had no children. Emma Jane managed their finances. At her death, they had been married for twenty-four years. Homan is a retired saw mill and chicken farm worker. He had only attended a few days of school in the first grade, and his literacy was limited to signing his name.

¶ 8. Mamie Roberts was married to one of Emma Jane's cousins and had known Emma Jane for fifty-eight years. When Emma Jane's health declined, Roberts provided her with transportation to the doctor and helped her in other ways. On December 9, 1995, when Emma Jane's medical condition worsened, Roberts took Emma Jane to the hospital where she was admitted. By that time Roberts had begun assisting Emma Jane in paying bills.

¶ 9. Armon Lee, the attorney who prepared the documents, had done extensive work for Roberts and her son. Roberts stated in her deposition that she had chosen Armon Lee to prepare the power of attorney because he was a good attorney. In court she refuted that she had selected the attorney, but stated that she had driven Homan to Armon Lee's office on December 28, 1995 where he signed his power of attorney. Roberts's son was present at the attorney's office when Roberts and Homan arrived. Roberts's son testified that his presence was just a coincidence. Homan was never consulted regarding his wishes. No one identified the instrument as a broad power of attorney, and Homan thought he was signing something which would allow Roberts to take care of his mail. Homan testified that he would not have signed otherwise. Roberts testified that she requested that the Wrights execute powers of attorney in her favor to facilitate her helping them with their affairs and to protect herself.

¶ 10. Roberts testified that her son was fairly sophisticated concerning real estate and that he had "owned a good bit, and his dad before him owned a good bit." When asked if her son had ever met with Armon Lee to discuss how the documents were to be prepared, Roberts replied, "Not about that, I don't think. But now he was with Mr. Lee. He's, he's a busy man, and Mr. Lee did his work."

¶ 11. Roberts conceded that Lee was an attorney with whom Emma Jane had never had prior dealings. She asserts that Armon Lee first came into contact with Emma Jane when he brought a deed unconnected with the Wrights' property to the hospital for Roberts to sign when she was visiting Emma Jane.

¶ 12. Roberts's brief states "[i]t was Emma Jane who talked to Attorney Lee about the deed, and it was Emma Jane who was in contact with Attorney Lee by phone as to the other instruments." Yet Roberts testified that within a few days of having the power of attorney drafted, she had the deed and will made in her favor. It is undisputed that the powers of attorney, the deed and wills were prepared at the same time.

¶ 13. Emma Jane, already very ill, had a particularly bad night of January 1, 1996. Around noon the next day, Roberts visited Emma Jane and Homan at the hospital. During that visit, Roberts called Lee's secretary to ask if the documents were ready and to request that someone bring them to the hospital because Emma Jane was "ready to sign her papers." Although Lee was at lunch, his secretary brought the documents immediately. Five or six relatives, including Roberts, were in Emma Jane's hospital room when the secretary arrived. There was testimony of a general confusion in the room and that Roberts was telling jokes. There was conflicting testimony concerning whether the documents were actually read word for word. After approximately one and one half hours of coaxing Emma Jane signed the instruments. There was testimony that she was confused during the process, apparently thinking she was writing a check and that she had asked for, but was not given her glasses. After executing the documents, Emma Jane told the secretary of several bequests that she would like for her will to contain. These bequests included a gift of the one-half acre of land that she had just deeded to Roberts and Roberts's son. None of the requested changes were made prior to her death three weeks later.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 14. A chancellor's findings of fact will not be disturbed unless they are manifestly wrong or clearly erroneous, or unless the chancellor applied an erroneous legal standard. If the Chancellor's findings are supported by substantial, credible evidence in the record, this Court will not reverse. In re Estate of Grantham, 609 So.2d 1220, 1223 (Miss.1992).

ANALYSIS

¶ 15. Homan Wright's six assignments of error in essence claim that the chancery court committed manifest error by not finding that Mamie Roberts and Emma Jane had a confidential relationship and that Roberts exerted undue influence over Emma Jane through this confidential relationship. Because of this alleged undue influence, Homan argues that both the will and deed in question must be voided. ¶ 16. The law in this state on fiduciary or confidential relationships and undue influence is well settled. Its application has been made to both inter vivos and testamentary transactions. Murray v. Laird, 446 So.2d 575, 578 (Miss.1984). With both gifts testamentary and gifts inter vivos, once the presumption of undue influence has been established, the burden...