Turner v. Rusk

Miller, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. A person of full age, who has been insane, may, after he has sufficiently recovered his reason to understand the character of his act, file a bill in equity to annul a deed or contract to his prejudice, made by him when he was of unsound mind, and incapable of contracting. This proposition was conceded in argument, and the contrary doctrine has long since been repudiated by every American ⁶⁹ Court, and denounced as having no foundation in reason or justice, and as dishonoring the jurisprudence of a civilized people. The bill in this case is one of that character.

The deed sought to be vacated was executed by the complainant, William L. Rusk, on the 27th of December, 1862. It is a lengthy document and was carefully and skilfully prepared by an attorney of ability and experience. By it the grantor, “ for divers good causes and valuable consideration, and also in consideration of the sum of ten dollars lawful money,” conveys certain real estate situated- on York avenue in the City of Baltimore, worth, as the proof shows, more than $10,000, to Robert Turner and his heirs, in trust for Barbara Rusk, the mother of the grantor, during her life, and after her death in trust for his sister Hester Ann Turner, wife of William H. H. Turner, with power to the said Hester to dispose of the property absolutely by deed or will, and if she died without making such disposition, then in trust for her children, but if she died without leaving children or descendants of children living at the time of her death, or should such children or descendants all die under age and without issue, then in trust for such persons as would by the then existing laws of Maryland, be the heirs of the said Hester to take an estate in fee in land by descent from her. These are its most important and main provisions.

When this deed was executed the complainant was about forty-eight years of age, and had never married. His mother was then, according to the testimonyof Mrs. Turner, about seventy-five years of age, and she died in the early part of the year 1875. Mrs. Turner was his only sister, and he was very much attached to her, but he also had four brothers towards whom there is nothing to show he entertained other than kindly and fraternal feelings. At that time he was also possessed of other property, which however was subsequently sold, and it seems the proceeds of it were not more than sufficient to pay the debts he ⁷⁰ owed at the date of the deed.

He therefore in fact by this voluntary deed, conveyed away absolutely, and' without any pecuniary consideration, all the property he had save what was sufficient to pay his creditors. He filed his hill to vacate that deed, on the 23rd of February, 1877, and in it he avers, in substance, that at the time of the execution thereof, and for some time previous, and for several years thereafter he was mentally incapacitated from making a valid deed or contract; that he remembers being told at the time that it was done to save his property for him, and that is all he knew or recollects being told in relation to it; and he charges that he was fraudulently deceived and imposed upon by the trustee named in the deed, or by some of the cestuis que trust therein as to the character of the transaction. The parties defendants are the trustee and the cestuis que trust under the deed. There has been no alienation of the property by Mrs. Turner, under the power contained in the instrument.

These defendants in their answers, deny all the allegations of the hill, and especially the fraud and deception imputed to them, and aver that the complainant at the time, and for a long time before was capable and mentally qualified, and in nowise incapacitated from making a valid deed or contract, and that he well knew when he signed it, the import and meaning of this instrument and the reasons why he made and executed it. In the progress of the case, 'and after a large part of the testimony, including his own, had been taken, the complainant died, and the appellees, his heirs-at-law, other than Mrs. Turner, were admitted as complainants to prosecute the suit in his stead. The issue thus made by the hill and answers, is purely one of fact to he determined by the evidence in the cause. That evidence, consisting mainly and almost exclusively of the oral testimony of a large number of witnesses,, is very voluminous, covering more than two hundred ⁷¹ and fifty pages of the printed record.

The task of examining and analyzing it, aided as we have heen by the hriefs, and oral arguments of counsel, has not been a slight one, but we have performed it patiently, carefully and to the best of our ability. Having done this our duty might well be discharged, as would that of a jury, by the simple announcement of our judgment that the deed ought to he set aside: for as each case of this character depends on its own facts and circumstances, and as these are in general, widely different in different cases, no great importance, as a precedent, can be attached to the opinion of an appellate Court in any such case. As the case however has been well and thoroughly argued on both sides, and as something more may justly be expected than the mere statement of the conclusion we have reached, we shall, as briefly as may be, state some of the general features of the case as they appear to us, and some of the principal reasons on which our judgment is founded. Before doing so it is proper to say that in forming that judgment we have considered none of the testimony that by possibility is obnoxious to the exceptions taken to it on either side, but only that which is undeniably competent and admissible.

We have placed very little reliance upon the mere opinions of witnesses, (save those of the attending physicians) as to the mental capacity of this party, even where they have stated facts clearly sufficient to warrant the admission of such opinions as evidence. It is upon the facts themselves which the testimony discloses, and the description which the witnesses give, of his conduct, manner, and appearance that we have mainly relied. The proof shows that Mr. Rusk, from early life, had been brought up to and engaged in beef butchering, a business, the successful prosecution of which requires energy, industry and a good degree of intelligence. In 1846 he purchased the property described in this deed for $7275, and from that time occupied the dwelling house ⁷² upon it and lived there with his mother.

His packing house was also upon the same premises. He was successful, and carried on the largest business in his line that was then conducted in the City of Baltimore. He managed and supervised this extensive business in all its details himself, and suffered no one to interfere with him. He was remarkable for energy and industry, and stood in his stalls in the markets on every market day, during market hours, was close and cautious in his bargains, fond of money, and making and keeping it, though not miserly in disposition; enjoyed good health, had a strong will, sound judgment and was not disposed to talk much, was temperate in his habits, and mild and gentlemanly in manner and deportment.

Such he had been from manhood, and was up to the memorable 19th day of April, 1861. On that, and the immediately following days, he was thrown into a condition of intense excitement, and on the 22nd went, or was taken, to the house of his sister, Mrs. Turner, where he remained until the latter part of 1863, or the beginning of 1864. When he first went there, his condition was such that he was for some time confined to his room, and did not go out of the house until the latter part of May. During the period between the 22nd of April and the last of May, he was undoubtedly insane.

This is proved by those who sat up with him at night, as well as by the physicians who then visited and attended him, and we find no contradictory proof on this point. He was evidently laboring under the delusion that he had cut the telegraph wires and burnt the bridges, and was in 'fear and terror lest he should he pursued and arrested. Dr. Buckler, who saw him once during this period, in consultation with Dr. Maris, says he “found him insane, caused, it was believed, by the military preparations, by the affair on Pratt street, and by the general excitement of those times, and advised that he he removed to some quiet place, as far as possible from the distracting scenes, ⁷³ surroundings and associations which, had acted as the exciting cause of his derangement.” Dr. Maris who was called in and attended him from the first, and who was also Mrs. Turner’s family physician, says he “found him very sick, he was suffering from intense excitement of the hrain. The condition in which I found him was one of intense general excitement, the primary disease being disease of the hrain ; it was cerebral and involved the whole hrain ; it might he called partial congestion of the hrain, and, if unchecked, would culminate in apoplexy ; it was a general case of hrain trouble.” He further says he resorted to extreme bleeding, which, probably, saved his life, and that the cause of the disease “ was the general excited condition of the times, and particularly financial excitement connected with it.” The condition of insanity at this period, prior to the deed, being thus clearly established, it is a question more interesting than important, whether the insanity was of such a character as to bring into operation the maxim of the law, “ once insane, presumed to he always insane,” so as to throw upon those claiming under the deed the onus of proving it was executed during a lucid interval.

This maxim is not an unqualified one. Neither observation nor experience shows us that persons who are insane from the effects of some violent disease do not usually recover the right use of their mental faculties. Such cases are not unusual, and the return of a sound mind may he anticipated from the subsiding or removal of the disease which has prostrated their minds. If, therefore, the proof only shows a case of insanity directly connected with some violent disease, the party alleging the insanity must bring his proof of continued insanity to that point of time which hears directly upon the contract impeach e d, and not content himself with proof of insanity at an earlier period.

Hix vs. Whittemore, 4 Metcalf, 545. But this was not a case of delirium caused hv a violent fever, nor mania-a-potu, nor ⁷⁴ the result of any violent disease which ordinarily involves a temporaiy loss of sanity, hut a direct attack upon the hrain itselfj of such intensity as usually results in protracted, if not permanent, injury to the mental faculties. The most that can he said is that it was a case in which eventual recovery of mental capacity was possible, and, perhaps, probable, but necessarily gradual and slow. Assuming, then, that this was not, at first, a case of what the authorities term “ habitual insanity,” but one in which the onus is upon the parties assailing the deed to'prove continuance of mental incapacity down to the time it was executed.

We think that onus has been met by the proof. To this point the great volume of testimony on either side has been directed. It is, of course, impracticable to set it forth at length, and indulge in extended comments thereon. All that can he expected is a general statement of what we regard as established by the preponderance of testimony.

Dr. Maris testifies on this subject, that from the time of his first attack, and after he had recovered his physical health, and for several years after the date of this deed, he continued to see him frequently and occasionally as a patient, and did not lose sight- of him for more than two or three months at a time, and that during all this period he was suffering from imbecility of mind ; the disease had left its impression, had impaired his mind, had impaired the integrity of his hrain ; that his expression indicated unquestionably that he was not a man of sound mind; he could say yes and no, and that was about all, was very timid, afraid of his own shadow; and then this witness expresses the opinion, that during all this time Mr. Rusk was not capable of understanding, attending to or transacting business, or of executing a valid deed or contract. A large number of other witnesses who also saw him frequently, and upon different occasions during the same period, while he remained at the house of Mrs. Turner, ⁷⁵ and after lie left there in 1863 or 1864, and went hack to his own house, where his mother lived, give strong testimony to the same effect. They describe the general expression of his countenance as simple and childish, that he appeared to he timid and frightened, with a wild and scared look from his eyes, and had grown fat and pussy, that he could hold no rational or coherent conversation with them, that when spoken to he would turn away and leave them, or put his hand on his head and say, or indicate, that there was something wrong there, in short, that his whole demeanor, conduct and appearance, were entirely changed and radically different from what they had been, and, in fact, were irrational and unnatural, and they give numerous instances and illustrations of such conduct. The witnesses who thus testify were his neighbors, intimate and social friends, who had known him from boyhood, those with whom formerly, and up to the 19th of April, he had had extensive and important dealings and business transactions, his former employes, and his two brothers, who, at the time they were examined, which was before his death, had no direct pecuniary interest in the result of the suit.

During this period he gave no attention to, and had no supervision over his business, which was all the while conducted by others, in his name and at his risk, and there is nothing to show he manifested the least interest therein. He never returned to or visited his stalls in the markets, and never