McKinney v. Powell
McKinney v. Powell
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Although, on the question, whether the appellant had a sufficient mental capacity to take care of property or prudently transact any ordinary business, there is some contrariety of evidence. The evidence is abundant and convincing that she was a weak minded and ignorant woman; particularly liable, situated as she was
The solicitude and haste manifested by the appellee to get the appellant to sell her interest to him, as well as the persuasive arguments he made to her to affect that object, though against the wishes of her father and mother, strongly conduce to the conclusion that he sought to take an unconscientious advantage of her; and as the renunciation of the will occurred after the execution of the deed and on the day the deed was made, when the appellee was apparently most interested in having it made, we must regard it as part of the same transaction and superinduced by the appellee.
We are of the opinion that neither the renunciation of the will nor the sale and conveyance to the appellee ought to stand; but the court should have set them both aside and proceeded to adjust the relative rights of the parties on equitable principles with reference to the $30.00 paid and improvements, if any were made, and the value of the garden appropriated by the appellee and the fair and reasonable rent of the property and waste, if any was committed.
Wherefore the judgment is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.