Mozynski v. Wells
Mozynski v. Wells
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal from a final decree dismissing a bill brought by the plaintiff against his daughter and a mortgagee bank to set aside a conveyance of real estate which, he alleged, he was induced to make by fraudulent representations that she would relieve him of the burden of paying taxes, interest on the mortgage, and maintenance expenses, and that he could live there undisturbed for the rest of his life.
The evidence is not reported. The judge made brief voluntary findings of fact which we now narrate. The plaintiff, seventy-five years of age, had lived separate from
The plaintiff, apparently realizing that he had not made out a case of fraudulent representations upon the part of the daughter, which were the only grounds upon which the bill was based, and that under our laws, as between the parties, a completed gift of real estate cannot be set aside where no power of revocation is reserved except upon proof of mental incapacity, mistake, fraud, or undue influence or a similar cause, or except in the case of a deed which derives its effect from the statute of uses, Beal v. Warren, 2 Gray, 447; Bartlett v. Bartlett, 4 Allen, 440, 443; Comstock v. Son, 154 Mass. 389; Taylor v. Buttrick, 165 Mass. 547; American Law of Property, § 12.43, filed a motion to amend the suit from equity to law. The motion recited that it appeared from the findings that the defendant was not a purchaser for value and therefore the plaintiff desired to recover the value of the premises. It is hard to see why the findings did not foreclose any action for damages. In any event, the denial of the motion was not an abuse of discretion, and there was no error in the ruling of the judge. Bressler v. Averbuck, 322 Mass. 139, 143.
The plaintiff contends that the subsidiary finding that ■ the mortgage was increased by the defendant with the knowledge and consent of her father is inconsistent with the general finding that the conveyance was an out and out
The interlocutory decree denying the motion to amend into law is affirmed. The final decree dismissing the bill is affirmed with costs of the appeal.
So ordered.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.