129 Ga. 595 | Ga. | 1907
M. J. Lunday and M. F. C. Hudson brought suit in Clinch superior court against J.„S. Foreman, to cancel a deed made by their mother, Mary Elisabeth Foreman, on July 24, 1906,. to the defendant, whereby certain lands were conveyed to him, on the grounds, that the maker of the deed was insane at the time of its execution, and that the defendant by persuasion and undue influence induced her to sign it when she was of weak mind and residing in his home. The plaintiffs also prayed for an injunction against the defendant, prohibiting him from cutting the timber on the land. The petition alleged that the only heirs at law of the intestate were the plaintiffs and the defendant. An amendment was allowed, alleging that Mrs. Foreman died intestate and that there was no administration of her estate. The defendant denied that his mother was insane at the time of the execution of the deed, or that he exerted any undue influence upon her to make it. It was admitted in the answer that Mrs. Foreman, the maker -of the deed, was the mother of the- plaintiffs by her fijst husband .and of the defendant by her second husband; that she owned the lands described in the deed, and executed to the defendant the deed, a copy of which was attached to the petition, on the 24th of July, 1906. Hpon the conclusion of the evidence, the court granted a nonsuit; to which the plaintiffs excepted and bring this, judgment of the court below here for review.
M. F. C. Hudson, one of the plaintiffs testified substantially as follows: There were several occurrences during her mother’s
It was shown that no will of Mrs. Foreman had been probated, and there had been no administration upon her estate.
W. H. Hudson, the husband of one of the plaintiffs, testified, among other things, as follows. At times during the past several years the mind of Mrs. Foreman appeared to be all right, and at times it did not. He told some of the acts and conduct of Mrs.
Dr. L. L. Eobinson, a-, witness for the plaintiffs, testified, in part, as follows. He had been Mrs. Foreman’s family physician for years. During the time he treated her in her last illness he saw her every other day from the 14th of July to the 25th of July, inclusive, and he saw her about 10 different times after that up to and including the 25th of August. Her mind would vary during the time he treated her. Sometimes it was stronger than at others. He did observe things in her behavior going to show mental weakness. He gave several instances in her conversation which caused him to believe this. She would talk intelligently about the condition of her case, and then he would see her again when it would seem that her last hope of recovery was gone, and she would express herself as if she did not care to get well. At the time he had. one conversation with her he could but notice the change in her mental condition, indicating that her mental • condition varied, and that she was not at that time in the same state of mind as before. At times her conversation varied, not realizing that she had talked on that line before. There was no reason he knew why the particular disease with which Mrs. Fore
A witness testified that the property embraced in the d'eed was-worth $5,000 at the time the deed was made.
The judgment of the court below is therefore
Reversed.