Estate Of Johnson v. Adkins

513 So.2d 922 (5th Cir. 1974)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P performed emergency surgery on Mr. Johnson in 1968. Mr. Johnson was married, but he and his wife, Lena, had no children. A close relationship developed between P and the Johnsons. Their relationship was more like that of parents and son. They acted like family. P treated the Johnsons for all their medical needs and never charged a fee, except what Medicare paid. They took trips together, including trips to Louisiana and Illinois. The Johnsons owned and lived on, a 57-acre farm. P was interested in the racing and breeding of thoroughbred horses, and, for that purpose, he owned a horse ranch named 'Camelot Farms.' Mrs. Johnson approached P about putting some of his horses on the farm to give Johnson something to do. Johnson was about seventy-four (74) years of age, and P was around thirty-eight (38). The Johnsons told P they had decided to leave their farm to him because he had been like a son to them. Johnson decided he wanted the farm to be a full-scale thoroughbred training operation. P then purchased a house trailer for the use of a professional horse trainer recruited by Johnson and P; the barn was converted from a feed barn to a horse barn; stalls were built, and electricity was provided; the existing barbed wire fences were replaced with regular wire with creosoted boards on top; and all fence posts were replaced, the fencing totaling around 8,000 feet; a 4-inch water well was drilled to provide adequate water for the horses; and a regulation race track was constructed on the farm. All of these improvements were paid by P, d/b/a/ Camelot Farms. Johnson oversaw the day-to-day operations of the horse farm and paid the operating costs of the horse farm from the Camelot Farms checking account. P gave Johnson signed blank checks for Johnson to complete, and later he authorized Johnson to sign Camelot Farms checks himself. The Camelot Farms checking account balance became too low to support the operations, and Johnson expressed a desire to loan P a sufficient amount to keep the farm going. P gave a series of promissory notes to Johnson from May 13, 1973, through July 15, 1978, when the balance on the last note was down to $5,937.44, at which time, the note was marked 'Cancelled' by Johnson. P testified that he had paid off that note in cash. By May 1978, Johnson's health began to deteriorate, and he was unable to carry on the operations of the horse ranch. Mrs. Johnson died on November 15, 1979. Johnson stated numerous times that he intended to bring the horses back to the ranch when his health improved. He had offers to buy the horse equipment on the farm, but Johnson refused, stating that the equipment belonged to P. Johnson died on January 17, 1984. Johnson left the entirety of his estate in trust to provide for the support and maintenance of his three surviving sisters, and for the education of local young persons wishing to enter the religious vocation of the Catholic Church. No mention of P was made in the will. P then probated a claim against the estate in the sum of seventy-two thousand nine hundred twenty-one dollars and six cents ($72,921.06) for funds expended by him on the improvement of the farm in its conversion from a cattle farm to a horse ranch. The Johnson estate contested Ps'' claim. The farm was sold for sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) but was valued at $147,000. The purchasers used the property as a horse farm. Four witnesses testified in support of the claim that Johnson had told them on numerous occasions that the farm would go to P after they died. On the other hand, witnesses for the estate testified that Johnson told them he was leaving all his property to charity and the Catholic Church. The chancellor found that there was a close relationship between Johnson and P and that the effort of P in converting the farm to a horse ranch was a 'positive factor' in selling the property for $160,000. P was given the verdict under unjust enrichment and quantum meruit. The chancellor granted P's claim of $72,921.06, but deducted half of the expenses, which were listed, for a total judgment of fifty-two thousand seven hundred seventy-three dollars ninety-three cents ($52,773.93), together with interest and costs. D appealed.