Jesse v. Brown
Jesse v. Brown
Opinion of the Court
John Brown died intestate on the 7th day of May, 1906. A few hours previous to his death he attempted by warranty deed to convey to his son Lafe Brown the northwest quarter of section 13, township 1, range 4 east of the sixth P. M., in Jefferson county, Nebraska. This action was brought by certain of the heirs of John Brown against all of the other heirs at law of John Brown, including Lafe BroAvn and his Avife, Etta Brown. In their petition the plaintiffs alleged that on the 7th of May, 1906, John Brown Avas the OAvner of said premises; that he was a man 98 years of age, mentally weak on account of his age, very deaf, almost blind, seriously and dangerously sick; that he could never read, write, nor sign his name; that he died about 11:30 P. M. of said day; that, about five hours before the death of said John BroAvn, the defendant Lafe Brown intending to cheat and defraud the other heirs at law of said John Brown, fraudulently induced hiny to sign a warranty deed conveying said premises to said defendant; that no consideration Avas paid for said transfer; that by reason of said John Brown’s physical and mental disabilities he was incompetent to transact any business, and that said deed Avas never delivered; that for more than three years prior thereto said John Brown had been living with the defendant Lafe Brown and family on said premises, and that by reason thereof, and the relationship of father and son, and the infirmities of said John BroAvn, the defendant Lafe Brown was able to and did, by undue influence, induce said John BroAvn 'to execute said deed, and thereby fraudulently procured title to said premises. They prayed for a cancelation of the deed, and that the title to the premises be quieted and confirmed in all of the heirs at law of John Brown, deceased.1
The defendant Lafe Brown answered, and alleged that on or about the 2d day of March, 1903, the said John
A trial was had upon the issues so joined. The court found that the deed was made without consideration, was procured by undue influence exercised by the defendant Lafe Brown, and was executed when said John Brown was incompetent, and that there was no delivery of the deed. It further found that no contract was entered into between said defendant and John Brown whereby the latter agreed to convey the lands to said Lafe Brown. The court entered a judgment in conformity with its findings. Prom that judgment the defendants Lafe Brown and Etta Brown have appealed.
We will first consider the evidence relating to the competency of John Brown to make the deed on May 7, 1906. The record shows that Mr. Brown was 98 years old; that he could neither read nor write; that he was hard of hearing, and his eyesight greatly impaired. In addition to the land in controversy, he owned 480 acres of other land, which he rented, and that he personally superintended the marketing of his grain and the collection of his rents; that he had been vigorous mentally and physically until the later years of his life, when he became somewhat feeble, eccentric, filthy and careless in his personal habits; that he would go to bed with his clothes and muddy boots or sho.es on, and on a number of occasions had shown a disregard of the proprieties in exposure of his person; that he kept a tub of water standing in his room without any known reason therefor, and on one occasion he lost his way with his horse and buggy upon the highway and wandered into a field, and did other things tending to show a mental decline. A number of witnesses testified that they did not think him competent to transact business during the last two years of his life. For three years before Mr. Brown’s death Lafe had rented and cultivated the farm in controversy, and he and his family had occupied the residence except the one room occupied by the father. Lafe and his family furnished the old gentleman with his meals, and took care of his room and did his washing. For two weeks previous to his death he was too feeble or ill to go to the table for his meals. On the 6th of May he was suffering from a cold and pain in his side, and a physician was consulted and prescribed for him. On the morning of the 7th the physician was called and examined him, and testified that he found Mr. Brown with a temperature of 101, his pulse 110 to 120, and his respiration 28 to 30; that his right lung was filled with mucus or phlegm, and his left lung somewhat involved,
From the consideration of this testimony and from other circumstances needless to mention, we think the evidence warranted the'finding that Mr. Browm, by reason of his advanced age, feeble condition, and serious illness, was incompetent to comprehend or understand what he was doing at the time he signed the deed. In this connection it is proper to say that the only evidence tending to show that Mr. Brown was competent at the time of signing- the deed was that of Mrs. Brown, Mr. Price and Dr. Pritchard. Mrs. Brown was an interested witness, and in addition thereto her testimony is in direct conflict with that of a number of disinterested witnesses on several material points. With reference to Mr. Price, it will be ob
The only evidence of the existence of an agreement between Mr. Brown and his son Lafe for the conveyance of the land is that of Mrs. Etta Brown. She testifies that in September, 1902, she heard a number of conversations between Mr. Brown and her husband to the effect that, if Lafe would move onto the farm and take care of his father during the rest of his life, his father would convey to him the quarter section of land. As before noted, the testimony of Mrs.' Brown was in direct conflict with that of a number of other witnesses, some of whom were disinterested. In June, 1903, Mrs. Brown wrote a letter wherein she stated that her husband was bound to go to Oklahoma the coming fall, and if he liked it to buy a farm there. On one occasion after the making of the alleged contract, Mrs. Brown is shown to have requested Mr. Brown to convey the land to her husband, and that he refused, and said they should get their start as he got his. On one occasion Lafe is shown to have unsuccessfully tried to induce his father to make a will leaving him the farm. At a meeting with his brothers and sisters in Illinois immediately after his father’s funeral he told his sisters and brothers that Lis father had not recompensed him for his care ox him, that his father had done nothing for him. On the night of his father’s death he told two of his neighbors that his father had but a short time previously made a will leaving him 160 acres of land, and $4,000 out of his other property, and that his father had thought that was
. The judgment of the district court is right, and should be affirmed.
By the Court: For the reasons given in the foregoing opinion, the judgment of the district court is
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Mary E. Jesse v. Lafe Brown
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- 1 case
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- Published