93 Iowa 615 | Iowa | 1895
I. August 21, 1891, there was filed with the clerk of the District Court of Johnson county, Iowa, an instrument purporting to be the last will and testament of Thomas Phillips, deceased, in which he bequeathed to his son, Thomas B. Phillips, one thousand
Thomas Phillips and Lizzie Glancy, the persons named in the will, contested the probate thereof, upon the grounds of want of mental capacity of the testator, -and because it was caused to be executed by undlue influence exercised over the testator by J. Mahoney, Richard Kirwin, and others. The cause was tried to a jury upon the issues thus made, and at the conclusion of the testimony for the contestants proponents moved «■the court to exclude from the jury the issues presented, upon the- ground that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain a verdict upon them. The court sustained the motion as to the issue touching undue influence, to which ruling contestants excepted. The motion, in so far as it related to the ground of mental capacity of the testator, was overruled. At the conclusion of all the -evidence, proponent moved the court to instruct the jury to return a verdict for him, because the evidence did not show the deceased did not possess a disposing mind and memory, and, there was not sufficient evidence upon which to sustain a verdict for contestants. This motion was sustained, and the jury, under the direction- of the court, returned a verdict for the proponent, to all of which contestants excepted, as also to- the order made admitting the will to probate.
II. There are some forty assignments of error in this case, based upon rulings relating to the admission and rejection of evidence. As the case must be reversed upon another ground, we shall not review in detail these alleged erroneous rulings. It is proper, however, to say that upon an examination of the entire record
III. The material question in this case is as to the ruling of the court instructing the jury to return a verdict for proponent. While exception is taken to the court’s ruling in withdrawing the issue of undue influence from the jury, we do not understand that appellants now seriously question the correctness of the action of the court in that respect. However that maybe, there is no question in our minds that the court was justified in holding that no evidence had been introduced warranting the submission of that question to the jury. As to the ruling of the court directing a verdict for proponents, upon the issue of want of mental capacity, we think the court erred in its judgment. At the conclusion of the evidence on part of tire contestants the court, in effect, held that a case had been made requiring the submission to the jury of the question as to whether the testator at the time he made his will was possessed of sufficient mental capacity to execute a valid will. That holding was undoubtedly correct. The testimony of Squire Paxton, who had known deceased many years, and who drew the will, if it is to be believed, showed that the testator was not competent •to make a will; that in fact he was almost, if not entirely, unconscious when his hand was guided to make his mark to the will. No effort was made to impeach Paxton generally. It is true an attempt was made, -which was only partially successful, to show that lie had testified differently on a former trial. The case then was in this condition: The court had held at the conclusion of contestants’. main case, and before proponent entered upon his case, that contestants had made a case to be submitted to a jury. Proponent then