Howe v. Palme

956 N.E.2d 249 (2011)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P owned a farm, an inheritance from his mother. His wife, Esther, was not on the deed. P is a simple man with severe dyslexia and slow mental processing. As an adult, he was easily intimidated. D even testified that because P is 'who he is,' 'he could be made to go along with things he may not really want to go along with.' Ds befriended Ps in the mid-1990s and D became P's only friend. P was afraid that he would lose his farm. D offered to help and advised P to pray on it. Ds made their move on Ps. D told a friend, 'Give me a year and I'll have my retirement.' Ds moved into the home to share expenses for a period of six months to one year. The inside of the house was cluttered and dirty, and the outside was littered with abandoned and rusting vehicles and other machine parts. Apparently, the house was uninsurable. Ds started cleaning up the property, but P was a somewhat reluctant participant. D intimidated P about the cleaning, forced him to part with items he desired to keep, and yelled at him to keep his word and to speed up his work. P found it difficult to face him when he came home from his job working on the adjacent farm. D decided unilaterally to take a 'commission' on the profits of a tag sale the parties held in the summer of 1999. D's wife kept the balance of the proceeds for household expenses. More than fifteen tons of 'junk' was removed by a junk hauler. D convinced P that he owed him $20,000 to $25,000 for cleaning up the property and that the only way Howe could settle his debt was to sell the farm or convey a fifty percent interest in it to Ds. P agreed to do so because he 'felt like there was no other option.' Ps signed a deed giving Ds a fifty percent interest in the property as his joint tenants by the entirety, subject to a life estate for P's wife. P did not have the money for a separate lawyer. P had ongoing feelings of 'fear and intimidation' at the time the deed was executed. Ds became ministers of Full Gospel International of Pennsylvania. They established a ministry on the farm. They had a 'spiritual board' of four to five people at the farm. P signed a document agreeing to be counseled by Reverend Carol Pomeroy. He also agreed that if he could not 'change' himself by March 31, the ministry would be disbanded. Those who wished to continue the ministry to God would leave the farm, and P would reimburse them financially for all the time, effort, and work they put into the farm. P's stepdaughter became concerned about the dealings. Ds forbade P to tell anyone outside of the ministry what went on at Shepherds Haven. P's wife testified that she and P were 'learning to submit,' to be 'loyal,' and to 'go along with D's leadership.' D's treatment of P was described as 'constant intimidation, belittlement -- degradation.' Ds eventually forced both Ps off the property. This action was commenced on March 1, 2006, less than one year after P left the property. The deed was rescinded and Ds appealed.