Knopf v. Gray

545 S.W.3d 542 (2018)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Vada Allen's will disposed of her entire estate, including approximately 316 acres of land. She devised that land as follows: NOW BOBBY I leave the rest to you, everything, certificates of deposit, land, cattle, and machinery, Understand the land is not to be sold but passed on down to your children, ANNETTE KNOPF, ALLISON KILWAY, AND STANLEY GRAY. TAKE CARE OF IT AND TRY TO BE HAPPY. The provision thus begins with a residuary bequest to her son, William Robert 'Bobby' Gray (D). The residuary bequest is immediately followed by instructional language referencing the 'land' included in the residuary and Bobby's children. Two of those children, Annette Knopf and Stanley Gray (Ps), are the petitioners here. D and his wife, Karen, conveyed the land at issue in fee simple to Polasek Farms, LLC, via multiple warranty deeds. P sued Ds seeking a declaratory judgment that Allen devised only a life estate to D, thus precluding him from delivering a greater interest to Polasek Farms. Both parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment. The trial court granted D's motion in two separate rulings and rendered final judgment for Ds, finding that the contested provision contained an invalid disabling restraint, the will vested D with a fee-simple interest in the property, and P received no remainder interest. The court of appeals affirmed. A dissenting justice would have held that the provision's meaning was ambiguous and thus improper for resolution on summary judgment. Ps appealed.