229 P. 704 | Cal. | 1924
Contestants appeal herein from a judgment against them upon the pleadings in a proceeding to revoke the probate of a will upon the ground of the alleged undue influence of one Hamilton, who was a proponent of the will and a legatee thereunder. A demurrer, general and special, to the petition of contest having been filed and overruled, answers thereto were filed by the several defendants and the matter coming on for hearing upon the issues so framed defendants objected to the admission of any evidence upon the ground that the petition of contest does not state facts sufficient to constitute a ground of contest. Thereupon defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings upon the same ground, which was granted, and from the judgment so entered this appeal is prosecuted. The appeal thus presents the single question whether or not the petition states facts sufficient to constitute a ground of contest, and by the record as presented to this court that question is further narrowed to the single question whether or not the petition states facts sufficient to justify the revocation of probate upon the ground of undue influence.
The following are the most material allegations of the petition bearing upon this question:
"That at the time of her death the said Elizabeth Augusta Bixler was of the age of over eighty years; that during the last year of her life, and for some time prior thereto, by reason of her age and her physical condition, her mental faculties had become so impaired that she was easily influenced by those in whom she had confidence; that the said Samuel Plumley Hamilton is a young man of the age of about 35 years; that during the last five years prior to her death she made said Hamilton her business manager and confidential agent, and he continued as such until her death; that during said time and up to the time of her death there existed a strange attachment on the part of the said aged decedent for the said young Hamilton, induced by unnatural flattery of the said decedent by the said Hamilton and attentions given the said decedent by the said Hamilton; that this strange attachment existed to such an extent that during the said period and up to the time of the death of *588 said decedent she kept constant company with the said Hamilton and during a great deal of the time secluded herself with him from her said relatives and household servants; that she consulted the said Hamilton constantly about her business affairs and followed his advice explicitly both in matters of business and in social matters; that the said decedent reposedconfidence and trust in said Hamilton, and he did control andinfluence her mind and actions to such an extent that she, thesaid decedent, during said period, did whatever he suggested orinstructed her to do; . . . that during such period the saidHamilton succeeded in substituting his will for the will ofsaid decedent; that for many years and up to the time when the said document purporting to be the last will and testament of said decedent was made the said decedent had employed . . . to act as her attorney; that on or about the 19th day of September, 1919, the said Hamilton used his said influence over the said decedent and induced her to visit his attorneys . . . for the purpose of having prepared for her her last will and testament; that the said document purporting to be the last will and testament of said decedent was prepared by the said attorneys . . . at the suggestion of the said Hamilton; . . . that the said Hamilton, by supplanting his will for that of thedecedent and by taking advantage of the trust and confidence reposed in him by the said decedent succeeded in having the decedent devise and bequeath to him by the said document purporting to be her last will and testament approximately one-third of the residue of her estate; that at the time of theexecution of the said document purporting to be her last will and testament, the said decedent was not following the dictatesof her own will, which would naturally have led her to have devised and bequeathed all of her estate to her heirs, but shewas acting wholly under the said influence of the said Hamiltonwho suggested and dictated to her the terms of said will; . . . that said purported will was not the free and voluntary act ofsaid decedent, but it was procured to be made by the undueinfluence of said Hamilton." (Italics added.)
It is respondents' contention, evidently adopted by the trial court, that the foregoing allegations are not allegations of fact, but are mere statements of conclusions of the pleader and are therefore insufficient. Appellants, on the *589
other hand, contend that all allegations of ultimate facts necessary to constitute a cause of action upon the ground of undue influence are stated therein. [1] It is well settled in this state that where the ground of contest is undue influence it is not sufficient for the pleader to merely allege the legal conclusion of undue influence, but facts must be pleaded from which the court may determine as a matter of law whether the facts so pleaded constitute the claimed undue influence. (Estate of Gharky,
"It must be borne in mind, throughout this discussion that we are considering the sufficiency of a pleading, and nothing else. A quite different question would be presented if the contest had been tried, and we were called upon to decide whether the evidence introduced warranted a verdict in favor of the contestants. No doubt the petition, whether based upon fraud or undue influence, must allege facts from which it can be seen that one or the other of these grounds of contest exists. The mere averment that the will was induced by fraud or by undue influence is the statement of a legal conclusion, and of no avail by itself. But certainly a pleading of any kind is required to state only ultimate facts, and need not specify in detail the evidence by which it is designed to prove these facts. . . . The pleading alleges, in effect, that the will was not 'the natural result of the uncontrolled will of the testatrix.' (Estate of Snowball,
So, also, in Estate of Newhall,
"That said Yordi 'for the purpose of causing her [plaintiff] to convey to him [her husband] the said lot of land, without consideration, intimidated plaintiff and exerted upon her the predominating influence which he then had over her by reason of his position as her husband, and used the complete confidence which she then and at all times, until his death, reposed in him, and thereby did then and there cause her, against her will and contrary to her wishes, to make, acknowledge, execute and deliver to him a deed of conveyance of said lot of land without consideration'; that 'plaintiff made — and delivered the said deed to said Fred Yordi solely by reason of his said acts and conduct, and not freely or voluntarily'; that 'said deed was prepared by a *594 scrivener selected by said Fred Yordi' and under his 'personal direction'; that the property was of the value of $4000; that plaintiff received 'no pecuniary advantage in return for said deed and said Yordi suffered no pecuniary damage therefor,' and that 'plaintiff had no independent advice in said transaction.' "
In Estate of Olson,
[8] Respondents in their brief have dissected the petition herein, and taking each phrase thereof by itself and analyzing the same have arrived at the conclusion that it does not state facts sufficient to make a cause of action. But, as was said in the Estate of Olson, supra, "The grounds *595 of opposition in their entirety must be looked to, and not the disjointed parts thereof, for a right conception of their sufficiency." So regarding the allegations of the petition herein we are satisfied that they are adequate to state a cause of action for the revocation of the probate of the will. Whether or not the appellants may succeed in proving those allegations upon the trial is a question with which we are not now concerned.
[9] It was not necessary to allege that Hamilton profited by the will here in question or even that he was named therein as a legatee. (Estate of Cahill,
The judgment is reversed.
Lawlor, J., Waste, J., Richards, J., Shenk, J., Seawell, J., and Lennon, J., concurred.