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Dodd v. Scott

A jury question remained as to whether decedent's daughter and her husband held six acres in a constructive trust for decedent's estate.

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In 1973 W. J. Dodd purchased ten acres and built a home. He conveyed six of the undeveloped acres back to the original owner, whose successor-in-interest sold the land back to Dodd in 1982. Two years later, with no consideration passing hands, Dodd conveyed the six acres to his daughter Jenifer Scott and to her husband David Scott. When Dodd died, his wife Joyce claimed that the Scotts held the six acres in an implied trust for Dodd or his estate, and as assignee of the estate Joyce filed a complaint to have title declared as belonging to the estate. The Scotts denied the existence of any implied trust, maintaining that the property was theirs outright. The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of the Scotts, holding that the evidence proffered by Joyce to show an implied trust was inadmissible hearsay and that therefore the only evidence before the court showed an outright gift to the Scotts.

The questions on appeal are whether all of Joyce’s evidence was inadmissible hearsay and whether any admissible evidence supported the finding of an implied trust.1 Although the court did not abuse its discretion in excluding some of Joyce’s evidence as inadmissible hearsay, it erred in its reasoning in excluding other portions of that evidence and it overlooked relevant, non-hearsay evidence. Thus, we affirm in part, vacate in part, and reverse in part.

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