Ziyad v. Estate of Tanner, No. W2007-01683-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. App. 11/6/2008)
| Decision Date | 06 November 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. W2007-01683-COA-R3-CV.,W2007-01683-COA-R3-CV. |
| Parties | MUHAMMAD ZIYAD v. ESTATE OF WILLIAM B. TANNER, SR. |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Michael F. Pleasants, Memphis, TN, for Appellant
William Ernest Norcross, Alisa L. Simmons, Cordova, TN, for Appellee
OPINION
This appeal involves a claim against a decedent's estate for one million dollars. The probate court denied the claim on various grounds, and we affirm.
William B. Tanner ("the Decedent") died on December 1, 2005. The probate court of Shelby County admitted the Decedent's will to probate on December 5, 2005. The Decedent's will was dated October 6, 2005. It listed various bequests to the Decedent's daughters, and the remainder of the estate was devised to the Decedent's spouse. Muhammad Ziyad, the appellant, had signed the will as an attesting witness.
The Decedent's brother, Herbert Tanner, subsequently filed a complaint to contest the will, alleging that it was not properly attested and executed. He attached the affidavit of Mr. Ziyad, who stated that he did not actually witness the Decedent or the other attesting witness sign the will, despite the statements to the contrary in his witness affidavit. Herbert Tanner submitted a previous will from 2004, which provided that Herbert would receive $10,000 per month until his death and a new Cadillac.
On March 24, 2006, Muhammad Ziyad filed a verified claim against the Decedent's estate for one million dollars. The basis for the one million dollar claim was listed as "Promise/Pledge to Muhammad Ziyad." Attached to the claim was a photocopy of a letter allegedly written by the Decedent, which provided:
8/20/05
To: Muhammad Ziyad
I appreciate the times that you were here by my side helping me thru these times of great need. You have always been there for me as a friend whenever i [sic] have needed you.And you have never ask me [sic] for anything.God only knows whether I will make it through these trying times, if I do I want to ask him to help me to help you with your life and your business involvements.I am going to give you a million dollars if I live.And in if [sic] God wills that I go the the [sic] next world with Jesus Christ I want you to have a million dollars in cash and value from my estate.If God wills that I go to the next world from this illness, I want you to make sure that my daughter Crystal is OK.I know that Pat will take care of Weatherly. You have been and are indeed a sterling friend. Thanks for always being here for me through thick and thin.
/s/ William B. Tanner
The text of the letter had been typed, and the Decedent's signature was photocopied like the rest of the letter.
The Decedent's wife, as executor of the estate, filed an exception to Mr. Ziyad's claim, contending that the claim was invalid for various reasons. The probate court held a two-day bench trial on the matter. During opening statements, Mr. Ziyad's attorney clarified that he was not claiming that the August 2005 letter was testamentary. Instead, he explained,
Mr. Ziyad testified that he had a "special contractual arrangement" with the Decedent throughout their "30-year association." Mr. Ziyad testified that he first met the Decedent in 1975 when he sought advice from the Decedent regarding marketing and advertising issues. Mr. Ziyad explained that his business promotes the Miss Black Memphis Pageant, and he sought the Decedent's advice because he thought that the Decedent was an expert on advertising and promotions. Mr. Ziyad testified that over the next few years, he and the Decedent developed a spiritual connection, as well as a "special business association." Mr. Ziyad described himself as the Decedent's "prayer partner,"stating that he would pray with the Decedent, read passages from scriptures, write him letters, and "inject spiritual inspirational information" into their relationship. He described himself as a "business associate" of the Decedent through the Decedent's billboard company.
Mr. Ziyad testified that the basis of his one million dollar claim against the Decedent's estate was an oral "agreement" he reached with the Decedent in 1985, in which the Decedent stated,1
I appreciate everything that you are always doing for me. And I want you to continue doing these things and being available when I need you. And, you know, if you keep on being available and doing the things that I need you to do, then one day I'm going to give you a million dollars.
Mr. Ziyad testified that the agreement was confirmed to him "off and on" throughout the next twenty years, and he performed various services for the Decedent until the Decedent's death in 2005 "in the expectation that [he] would be rewarded for so doing."
Mr. Ziyad said his relationship with the Decedent was predominately of a spiritual nature, and he said he expected to be rewarded for providing spiritual counseling to the Decedent. In addition, Mr. Ziyad testified that he would, "from time to time," deliver envelopes to various businesses for the Decedent, and he would sometimes "run other errands" such as going to the health food store for the Decedent, or bringing him pizzas. Mr. Ziyad said he "ran a few errands concerning some billboard matters" for the Decedent's business, such as riding around with the Decedent on weekends to look for obstructed signs and going to speak with some customers who complained about the billboards. However, Mr. Ziyad reiterated that "[t]he spiritual advisor role was the most significant of all of the business involvements that I took care of for Mr. Tanner." Before the Decedent died, he was in and out of the hospital for three to four years due to leukemia. Mr. Ziyad testified that he would visit the Decedent at the hospital, pray with him, go cash checks for him, and refill the candy jar the Decedent maintained in his room for the nurses. Mr. Ziyad stated that when the Decedent's condition worsened in 2005, he would visit the Decedent every day for approximately four hours, pray with him, help him with exercises, straighten up his hospital room, and get business files out of a drawer for the Decedent.
Mr. Ziyad testified that during one of his visits to the hospital, the Decedent gave him the aforementioned letter, dated August 20, 2005. According to Mr. Ziyad, the letter embodied their oral agreement from 1985. Mr. Ziyad testified that he understood the letter to mean that the Decedent would pay him one million dollars "if he lived or if he died." Mr. Ziyad testified that he only had a photocopy of the letter, and he never saw an original copy of the letter bearing the Decedent's original signature. However, Mr. Ziyad testified that he was familiar with the Decedent's signature and that the signature on the letter was the Decedent's signature.
The letter mentioned two of the Decedent's daughters, Crystal and Weatherley, stating, Mr. Ziyad testified that, since the Decedent's death, he had visited Crystal to "make sure she's all right," and once he met her at an attorney's office at her request. On cross-examination, Mr. Ziyad acknowledged he had never been inside Crystal's home.
Mr. Ziyad said he never asked for payment for his services during the Decedent's lifetime because he knew that the Decedent had "promised" him one million dollars. Mr. Ziyad testified that he called the Decedent's wife, Pat Tanner, after the Decedent's death to ask her about receiving the sum of one million dollars. According to Mr. Ziyad, Mrs. Tanner told him, "you wouldn't believe the stories that I have heard from people," but she said she could believe that the Decedent would want Mr. Ziyad to have one million dollars. Mr. Ziyad testified that Mrs. Tanner told him she would know more about the Decedent's estate in a few months. Mr. Ziyad said he never told Mrs. Tanner that he had a letter from the Decedent regarding the agreement because he thought she already knew about it.
Mr. Ziyad presented the testimony of the Decedent's brother, Herbert Tanner, who testified that Mr. Ziyad and the Decedent had "a very close, warm relationship" and "visited a lot throughout the years." He said Mr. Ziyad and the Decedent were prayer partners, and that the Decedent would call Mr. Ziyad from time to time whenever he needed his assistance. Herbert Tanner testified that he visited the Decedent in the hospital almost daily, and he often saw Mr. Ziyad there. Herbert Tanner said the Decedent told him he intended to reward Mr. Ziyad for his services, and he said the Decedent wanted Mr. Ziyad to have one million dollars because he loved Mr. Ziyad as his best friend.
Next, Mr. Ziyad presented the testimony of his nephew, Quantral Fletcher. Mr. Fletcher testified that he and Mr. Ziyad met the Decedent at a Wendy's in September of 2005. Mr. Fletcher testified that he overheard the Decedent tell Mr. Ziyad, "I'm going to do what I promised about the million dollars."2 Mr. Fletcher said the Decedent also told Mr. Ziyad he needed him to "keep helping him as he was in and out of the hospital" and "look after his daughter, Crystal" if anything happened to him.
Mr. Byron Jordan testified that he was a nurse at the hospital where the Decedent received care for several years, and he saw Mr. Ziyad numerous times...
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