Jarvis v. Lieder

978 A.2d 106

117 Conn.App. 129

Constance J. JARVIS v. Constance M. LIEDER et al.

No. 30457.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued May 28, 2009.

Decided September 15, 2009.

Noah J. Schafler, Shelton, for the appellants (defendants).

Christine L. Curtiss, Derby, for the appellee (plaintiff).

BISHOP, DiPENTIMA and GRUENDEL, Js.

GRUENDEL, J.

A constructive trust arises "when the legal title to property is obtained by a person in violation, express or implied, of some duty owed to the one who is equitably entitled, and when the property thus obtained is held in hostility to his beneficial rights of ownership.... The specific instances in which equity impresses a constructive trust are numberless, — as numberless as the modes by which property may be obtained through bad faith and unconscientious acts." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Millard v. Green, 94 Conn. 597, 601-602, 110 A. 177 (1920). This appeal calls on us to determine whether the trial court properly classified the defendants' actions as among those numberless instances of bad faith or unconscientious acts that warrant the imposition of a constructive trust.

The defendants, Constance M. Lieder, Carol A. Heffernan and Colleen M. Lieder, appeal from the judgment of the trial court, which imposed a constructive trust on assets titled in their name, naming the plaintiff, Constance J. Jarvis, as beneficiary. On appeal, the defendants contend that the court improperly (1) considered extrinsic evidence that contradicted the express terms of a deed, (2) rewarded the plaintiff despite the allegedly wrongful purpose of her activities, (3) found in favor of the plaintiff on a cause of action that was not pleaded in the amended complaint, (4) imposed a constructive trust on the basis of the existence of a confidential relationship and (5) applied the applicable statute of limitations and the doctrine of laches. We disagree and affirm the well reasoned judgment of the trial court.

To understand the complex family relationships involved in the present case, we begin with the dramatis personae. The plaintiff was one of six siblings. Heffernan and Constance Lieder are daughters of the plaintiff's sister, Stell. Colleen Lieder is Constance Lieder's daughter and, thus, the plaintiff's grandniece. Also involved in the case, but only tangentially, are Ronald Ritchie, Kenneth Ritchie and Deborah Hyder, the children of the plaintiff's sister, Mary Ritchie. In addition, another grandniece, Jessica Hyder, is involved to the extent that the plaintiff assisted her in paying college tuition.

The following facts relevant to our disposition of the defendants' appeal are culled from the court's detailed and comprehensive memorandum of decision. On October 10, 1999, the plaintiff's husband of fifty-eight years, Charles Jarvis, died. "The plaintiff, who was then eighty-four years of age, was emotionally shaken. At the time of her husband's death, the plaintiff was in reasonably good health for her age but was legally blind. She could read only by using a magnifying glass and also was hard of hearing. Before Charles Jarvis' death, Colleen [Lieder] began discussing the plaintiff's finances with her and the eligibility requirements for long-term medical care under [title XIX of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1396 et seq. (medicaid)],¹ should the plaintiff require such care in the future. The plaintiff desired to convey her home to Constance [Lieder], [Heffernan] and Ronald Ritchie. She discussed the proposal with the defendants and asked them which attorney she should employ to effectuate the conveyance. [Heffernan] recommended attorney Thomas Condon, who had prepared the will of the plaintiff's mother and sister. On December 13, 1999, Constance [Lieder], [Heffernan] and the plaintiff met with ... Condon in his office. The subject of a life estate was discussed in the meeting, although there was no evidence as to what was said.... Condon did not speak with the plaintiff outside the presence of her nieces, nor did he advise her that her home would be subject to the creditors of her nieces and nephew upon transfer. He prepared a quitclaim deed and, on December 13, 1999, the plaintiff conveyed her home ... to Ronald Ritchie, [Constance Lieder and Heffernan] `for the consideration of love and affection' ....

"At the time of the conveyance, the plaintiff understood that she would be able to live in the house until her death, at which time it would belong to her nieces and nephew.... Heffernan, too, testified that there was an understanding and an assumption that the plaintiff would continue to live in the house.

"After Charles Jarvis' death, Colleen [Lieder] became more than a grandniece who shared a warm familial relationship with the plaintiff. She became the plaintiff's trusted financial adviser. Colleen [Lieder] was an educated young woman and a corporate accountant. The plaintiff was elderly and unable to read without the aid of a magnifying glass.

"[On October 10, 1999] [w]hen [Charles] Jarvis died, he and the plaintiff had approximately $154,577 in three bank accounts ...." There were two savings accounts, one with a balance of $84,056 and one with $49,349, and a checking account with a balance of $21,172. "On November 15, 1999, the two savings accounts were closed. The proceeds of the smaller ... account ... were deposited into a joint checking account opened ... in the names of the plaintiff and Colleen [Lieder]. This account was referred to at trial as the `small' checking account [small checking account]. Colleen [Lieder] has acknowledged that her name was placed on this account for purposes of convenience, to enable her to sign checks for the plaintiff's bills. The defendants make no claim of ownership as to this account. The proceeds of the larger savings account owned by the plaintiff and her late husband were placed in an annuity opened by the plaintiff. Constance [Lieder] and [Heffernan] were named as beneficiaries of the annuity.

"On March 3, 2000, the joint checking account owned by the plaintiff and her late husband was closed ... the balance having increased after [Charles] Jarvis' death as a result of various deposits, including life insurance proceeds. On March 15, 2000, the closing proceeds from this account were deposited into the joint checking account in the names of the plaintiff and Colleen [Lieder]. On September 30, 2000, a certificate of deposit ... was opened in the names of all three defendants [and the plaintiff was not listed on the account]. The certificate of deposit was funded with a $55,000 check signed by Colleen [Lieder] and drawn on the small checking account.

"In December, 2000, a ... checking account was opened ... in the names of all three defendants [and again, the plaintiff was not listed on the account]. This account, referred to as the `large' account [large account], was initially funded with a $5000 check signed by Colleen [Lieder] and drawn on the small checking account. On January 22, 2001, Colleen [Lieder] wrote an additional check in the amount of $15,000 drawn on the small [checking] account and deposited the check into the large account." (Emphasis in original.)

To summarize, as of December, 2000, the plaintiff had transferred title in her house to Heffernan, Constance Lieder and Ronald Ritchie. An annuity, with Constance Lieder and Heffernan as beneficiaries, had been opened using the plaintiff's funds. Of the approximately $80,800 in funds remaining, $55,000 had been used to open a certificate of deposit in the names of all three defendants and $20,000 had been used to fund the large account in the names of all three defendants. This left the plaintiff with less than $6000 remaining from the proceeds of the original three accounts she held with her late husband.

"Thereafter, the small checking account functioned as a repository [for] the plaintiff's social security checks and the survivorship benefits she received from her late husband's pension. The balance in the small checking account was kept at or about ... $5000. Whenever the balance of the small [checking] account increased significantly above that amount, Colleen [Lieder] withdrew sums of money from [that] account and deposited the sums into the large account. Between March, 2001, and June, 2006, there were approximately three dozen withdrawals from the small [checking] account and corresponding deposits into the large account, generally ranging from $1800 to $5000. The total amount transferred ... exceeded $130,000. The monthly statement for the small account (held by the plaintiff and Colleen [Lieder] jointly) was sent to the plaintiff's home. The statement for the large account ... was sent to Colleen [Lieder].

"Twice a month, Colleen [Lieder] visited the plaintiff at her home and reviewed her bills.... The plaintiff had to use her magnifying glass to examine the bills. Colleen [Lieder] wrote out and signed checks paying the bills. All bills were paid out of the large checking account held jointly by the defendants. Occasionally, Colleen [Lieder] would bring over the monthly statement for [that] account. As early as 2000 or 2001, the plaintiff saw, but did not question, that this account was in the names of the defendants. Colleen [Lieder] also provided the plaintiff with a monthly stipend of $850 out of this account.

"In May, 2001, Constance [Lieder] called Ronald Ritchie and told him that the plaintiff wanted him to convey his one-third interest in [the plaintiff's home] back to her. On May 15, 2001, Ronald Ritchie dutifully went to attorney Condon's office, where a quitclaim deed already had been prepared. He executed the deed and later informed the plaintiff that he had done so. On June 7, 2001, the plaintiff quitclaimed half of her one-third interest in the home [back] to Ronald Ritchie and half to Colleen Lieder `for the consideration of love and affection....'

"In 2005, the plaintiff asked Colleen [Lieder] for an increase in her...