Silverman v. Steinberg
Silverman v. Steinberg
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff seeks by this bill in equity to establish his ownership in three bank accounts and, because of alleged duress, to set aside assignments of them made by him to the defendants as executors of the will of his father, Max Silverman. From a final decree dismissing the bill, the plaintiff appealed.
Pertinent findings of the judge and facts admitted in the pleadings are as follows: The plaintiff, who is forty-nine years of age, is the son of the late Max Silverman (hereinafter sometimes called Silverman), with whom for about thirty years prior to the latter’s death' on October 31, 1947, he had been in business “under a rather loose financial arrangement.” Silverman was survived by two daughters, three sons, eight grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Silverman made a will on March 14, 1946, in which his son, the defendant Harry Silverman, and the defendants Steinberg and Burofsky, his sons-in-law, were named executors. Under his will Silverman left his business to the plaintiff and “all the property connected therewith, excepting any bank accounts used in the conduct of the business and excepting any funds in any bank then or thereafter used by or in connection with the business.” At the time the will was made Silverman “had the funds in banks which later were deposited in the three bank accounts in dispute.” Neither at that time nor when he died could the bequests made by him have been paid unless
The decree was right.
The plaintiff’s bill, as amplified by specifications, alleged that the funds in the three accounts represented in whole or in part the plaintiff’s earnings over many years; that these funds were retained by Silverman for his (the plaintiff’s) benefit; and that he was induced to execute the assignments to the defendants by duress and coercion exercised by his sister Ethel Burofsky and the defendant Steinberg. The findings of the judge, however, do not sustain these allegations. The plaintiff’s contention that the assignments were given under mutual mistake requires no discussion. It may be doubted whether relief on that
Decree affirmed with costs.
The final decree also ordered the dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaim, but it need not concern us since the defendants did not appeal from the decree.
The allegations in the plaintiff's bill, by which he is bound (G. L. [Ter. Ed.] c. 231, § 87), incorporate by reference the assignments, and they show that each contained a recital that it was sealed. See G. L. (Ter. Ed.) c. 4, $ 9A; Tupper v. Hancock, 319 Mass. 105, 107.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Myer Silverman v. Abraham Steinberg & others
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published