Crosland v. Patrick ( 2020 )


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  •                IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA
    No. COA19-713
    Filed: 15 September 2020
    Mecklenburg County, No. 15 E 002702
    JUDITH E. CROSLAND, Petitioner,
    v.
    BAILEY PATRICK, JR., as Executor of the Estate of JOHN CROSLAND, JR.,
    Respondent.
    Appeal by Defendant from order entered 24 May 2019 by Judge Louis A. Trosch
    in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 8 January
    2020.
    Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, by Lynn R. Chandler and Lucas D. Garber,
    for petitioner-appellant.
    Alexander Ricks PLLC, by Roy H. Michaux, Jr., for respondent-appellee.
    Essex Richards, P.A., by Jonathan E. Buchan, Jr., for intervenor.
    MURPHY, Judge.
    Where specific allegations, which could establish the presence of a genuine
    factual dispute are barred by the Dead Man’s Statute, no genuine issues of material
    fact exist and summary judgment is proper.        Additionally, where the statute of
    limitations for a contract and fraud claim is three years, the statute of limitations
    bars any claim of fraud, duress, or undue influence after three years. Here, the
    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    prenuptial agreement was signed and executed thirty-seven years prior to this
    Petition for Elective Share, and the statute of limitation bars any challenge.
    Moreover, the alleged unilateral revocation of the prenuptial agreement argued in
    the pleadings has no legal significance. The trial court properly granted Respondent’s
    motion for summary judgement.
    BACKGROUND
    John Crosland, Jr. (“Husband”) died testate on 2 August 2015. His Last Will
    and Testament was executed on 7 August 2013 and admitted to probate 13 August
    2015. Judith E. Crosland (“Wife”), as the surviving spouse, filed a Petition for Elective
    Share on 15 October 2015. She requested the trial court determine if the value of
    property passing to her under Husband’s estate plan was less than fifty percent of his
    estate as provided by N.C.G.S. § 30-3.1.
    On 5 November 2015, Respondent, Bailey Patrick, Jr. (“Executor”), as Executor
    of Husband’s estate, filed a notice of transfer to Superior Court to determine all issues
    relating to or arising out of the Petition for Elective Share, and seeking a declaratory
    judgment that the prenuptial agreement dated and signed on 3 February 1978 (“the
    Agreement”) was in all respects valid and enforceable.           Executor argued the
    Agreement, if valid, would bar any claim for an elective share sought by Wife.
    Executor also sought a stay pending a determination as to whether the Agreement
    barred Wife’s right to pursue an elective share.
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    Wife claims Husband first presented the Agreement to her on 3 February 1978,
    the night before their wedding. In her deposition, Wife testified she did not feel she
    had a choice regarding whether to sign the Agreement because she believed the
    wedding would not go forward unless she signed it. Both Husband and Wife signed
    the Agreement on 3 February 1978; their signatures were acknowledged before a
    Notary Public that same day.
    Wife filed a reply to Executor’s counterclaim for declaratory judgment (“the
    Reply”) on 8 December 2015, which asserted the Agreement was invalid and
    unenforceable based upon allegations it was signed under duress, it was procured
    without adequate disclosure of material financial information, and it had been
    “revoked” by Husband during his lifetime. The Reply included the following:
    [Executor’s] Counterclaim is barred in whole or in part
    because the document entitled “[Prenuptial] Agreement”
    was revoked by [Husband] during his lifetime.
    [Executor’s] Counterclaim is barred in whole or in part by
    waiver, as [Husband] evidenced his intent to revoke and
    did revoke the document entitled “[Prenuptial] Agreement”
    during his lifetime.
    [Executor’s] Counterclaim is barred in whole or in part by
    estoppel, as [Husband] evidenced his intent to revoke and
    did revoke the document entitled “[Prenuptial] Agreement”
    during his lifetime.
    Wife died 16 October 2018. On 11 January 2019, Branch Banking & Trust
    Company (“BB&T”), as Executor for Wife’s estate, was substituted as Petitioner.
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    On 27 March 2019, Executor moved for summary judgment pursuant to Rules
    7 and 56 of the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure and for dismissal of the
    Petition for Elective Share under N.C.G.S. § 30-3.1. On 23 April 2019, Wife filed a
    cross-motion for summary judgment declaring the Agreement void (or alternatively
    voidable) and unenforceable.
    An order was entered 24 May 2019 granting Executor’s Motion for Summary
    Judgment and denying Wife’s cross-motion for summary judgment. Wife appealed.
    ANALYSIS
    A. Standard of Review
    Our standard of review of an appeal from summary
    judgment is de novo; such judgment is appropriate only
    when the [R]ecord shows that there is no genuine issue as
    to any material fact and that any party is entitled to a
    judgment as a matter of law. When considering a motion
    for summary judgment, the trial judge must view the
    presented evidence in a light most favorable to the
    nonmoving party. If the movant demonstrates the absence
    of a genuine issue of material fact, the burden shifts to the
    nonmovant to present specific facts which establish the
    presence of a genuine factual dispute for trial.
    In re Will of Jones, 
    362 N.C. 569
    , 573, 
    669 S.E.2d 572
    , 576 (2008) (internal citations
    and quotation marks omitted).
    Our standard of review for decisions regarding N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 601(c),
    commonly known as the Dead Man’s Statute, is also de novo. In re Will of Baitschora,
    
    207 N.C. App. 174
    , 181, 
    700 S.E.2d 50
    , 55-56 (2010).
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    [T]he function of Rule 601(c) is to exclude proffered
    testimony when it is shown (1) that such witness is a party,
    or interested in the event, (2) that his testimony relates to
    a personal transaction or communication with the deceased
    person, (3) that the action is against the personal
    representative of the deceased or a person deriving title or
    interest from, through or under the deceased, and (4) that
    the witness is testifying in his own behalf or interest.
    
    Id. at 180
    , 
    700 S.E.2d at 55
     (quoting In re Will of Lamparter, 
    348 N.C. 45
    , 51, 
    497 S.E.2d 692
    , 695 (1998) (internal quotation marks omitted). There is
    nothing in the language of Rule 601(c) [to] suggest[ ] that
    the implementation of the Dead Man’s Statute involves the
    making of a discretionary determination, although the fact
    that its application may, under some circumstances,
    involve what amounts to a relevance determination does
    suggest that a degree of deference should be given to the
    trial court’s decision.
    
    Id. at 180-81
    , 
    700 S.E.2d at 55
    . Accordingly,
    the standard of review for use in [reviewing a ruling under
    Rule 601(c)] is one that involves a de novo examination of
    the trial court’s ruling, with considerable deference to be
    given to the decision made by the trial court in light of the
    relevance-based inquiries that are inherent in the
    resolution of certain issues involving application of Rule
    601(c).
    
    Id. at 181
    , 
    700 S.E.2d at 55-56
    .
    B. Dead Man’s Statute
    “The North Carolina ‘Dead Man’s Statute,’ formerly N.C.G.S. § 8-51 and now
    codified in Rule 601(c) of the Rules of Evidence, N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule 601(c), has
    traditionally prohibited testimony involving both ‘transactions’ and ‘communications’
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    by individuals who would potentially benefit from the alleged statements of a
    deceased individual.” In re Will of Lamparter, 
    348 N.C. 45
    , 49, 
    497 S.E.2d 692
    , 694
    (1998).   The Dead Man’s Statute, as now codified, is “applicable only to oral
    communications between the party interested in the event and the deceased.” 
    Id.
    Although a person interested in the event of the action is
    disqualified, his interest must be a direct legal or pecuniary
    interest in the outcome of the litigation. The key word in
    this phrase is legal, the cases as a whole showing that the
    ultimate test [in determining an interested party] is
    whether the legal rights of the witness will be affected one
    way or the other by the judgment in the case.
    Rape v. Lyerly, 
    287 N.C. 601
    , 622, 
    215 S.E.2d 737
    , 750 (1975) (internal quotation
    marks omitted). “The purpose of [the Dead Man’s Statute] is to exclude evidence of
    statements made by deceased persons, since those persons are not available to
    respond.” Estate of Redden ex rel. Morley v. Redden, 
    194 N.C. App. 806
    , 808, 
    670 S.E.2d 586
    , 588 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted).
    The crux of this case rests upon whether or not the Agreement is valid and
    enforceable, and accordingly, whether Executor’s motion for summary judgment was
    properly granted. On appeal, Wife argues the Agreement was void ab initio and
    unenforceable as a matter of law because Husband, allegedly, failed to provide her
    with financial disclosure and because the Agreement was, allegedly, revoked and
    destroyed.
    To support her claim that the Agreement was void ab initio, Wife argues
    Husband failed to disclose his financial status as is mandated in Tiryakian.
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    Tiryakian v. Tiryakian, 
    91 N.C. App. 128
    , 
    370 S.E.2d 852
     (1988).             There are
    circumstances where “absent any voluntary waiver, especially considering the
    confidential relationship between prospective spouses, the failure to fully disclose
    one’s financial status is grounds for invalidating [a prenuptial] agreement.” Id. at
    133, 
    370 S.E.2d at 855
    . Here, however, the evidence presented by Wife regarding
    Husband’s lack of financial status disclosure was inadmissible under the Dead Man’s
    Statute.
    Wife is a “person interested in the event”; she has a “direct legal or pecuniary
    interest” in the outcome of the litigation. Rape, 287 N.C. at 622, 
    215 S.E.2d at 750
    .
    To agree with Wife’s argument that the Agreement is void ab initio and is thereby
    unenforceable would require the Agreement to be set aside.           Wife’s Petition for
    Elective Share would be granted, and Wife would inherit 50% of the total net assets
    of Husband’s estate. See generally N.C.G.S. § 30-3.1(a)(4) (2019).
    The only evidence we have regarding the Agreement comes from Wife’s
    testimony during her deposition:
    [Wife’s Attorney]: Were you expecting to be handed a
    prenuptial agreement the night before your wedding?
    [Wife]: No.
    [Wife’s Attorney]: Did [Husband] – without going into
    anything he said to you, did he provide you any financial
    information when he presented you with that prenuptial?
    [Wife]: No.
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    [Wife’s Attorney]: Had he ever presented you with financial
    information prior to that?
    [Wife]: No.
    In order to understand any financial status disclosure Husband provided to Wife, as
    alluded to in her deposition testimony, Wife would have to testify to oral
    communications between her and Husband, who was already deceased at the time
    Wife filed suit. Such testimony is barred by the Dead Man’s Statute. See N.C.G.S. §
    8C-1, Rule 601(c) (2019).
    Additionally, if such testimony was not inadmissible and barred by the Dead
    Man’s Statute and was allowed, additional problems could arise. For example, we
    find instructive the cautions raised in Kornegay v. Robinson, 
    176 N.C. App. 19
    , 
    625 S.E.2d 805
     (Tyson, J. dissenting), rev’d for reasons stated in dissent, Kornegay v.
    Robinson, 
    360 N.C. 640
    , 
    637 S.E.2d 516
     (2006). In Kornegay, a husband and wife
    signed a prenuptial agreement;1 when the husband passed away, the wife believed
    the decedent-husband had executed a will with substantial provisions in her favor,
    but no such provisions were found in the will. Kornegay, 176 N.C. App. at 21, 
    625 S.E.2d at 806
    .       The prenuptial agreement signed by the decedent and the wife
    included a provision waiving all the wife’s rights as a spouse, including the right to
    1 See Prenuptial Agreement, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019) (“An agreement made before
    marriage [usually] to resolve issues of support and property division if the marriage ends in divorce or
    by the death of a spouse. –Also termed antenuptial agreement; antenuptial contract; premarital
    agreement . . . .”).
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    claim a spousal share of the decedent’s estate. 
    Id.
     The wife brought an action for a
    declaratory judgment against the decedent’s estate to invalidate the prenuptial
    agreement; the trial court granted summary judgment dismissing the wife’s action.
    Id. at 21, 
    625 S.E.2d at 807
    . On appeal to this Court, the Majority reversed the trial
    court’s grant of summary judgment and held “material issues of fact exist[ed] as to
    whether [the wife] entered the [prenuptial] agreement voluntarily.” Id. at 27, 
    625 S.E.2d at 810
    . Judge Tyson, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have
    affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in light of the husband being
    deceased at the initiation of the lawsuit and the lack of evidence that the wife entered
    the agreement involuntarily. Id. at 31-32, 
    625 S.E.2d at 812-13
    . Our Supreme Court,
    in a per curiam opinion, adopted Judge Tyson’s Dissent. See Kornegay v. Robinson,
    
    360 N.C. 640
    , 
    637 S.E.2d 516
     (2006).
    Although the Dead Man’s Statute was not directly mentioned in Kornegay,
    there are factual similarities that implicate the same concerns the Dead Man’s
    Statute exists to protect against: “to exclude evidence of statements made by deceased
    persons, since those persons are not available to respond.” Estate of Redden ex rel.
    Morley, 194 N.C. App. at 808, 
    670 S.E.2d at 588
    . In Kornegay, the wife contested the
    validity of a prenuptial agreement over fifteen years after it was signed, and only
    after the husband had passed away, making it impossible for him to respond.
    Kornegay, 176 N.C. App. at 31-32, 
    625 S.E.2d at 812
    .
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    Here, similar to the wife in Kornegay, Wife contested the validity of the
    Agreement signed thirty-seven years prior to the initiation of this lawsuit in 2015
    and only brought suit after Husband had passed away. In order to support her
    argument that the Agreement is void ab initio and unenforceable, Wife would be
    required to testify to oral communications she had with Husband.            Such oral
    communications, however, are barred by the Dead Man’s Statute because Wife is an
    interested party and Husband is no longer able to respond. N.C.G.S. § 8C-1, Rule
    601(c) (2019).
    Moreover, as noted above, Wife’s principal argument is the Agreement is not
    valid and enforceable due to Husband’s alleged failure to disclose his financial status
    prior to the execution of the Agreement. In support of this argument, Wife relies on
    Tiryakian.   Tiryakian, however, was distinguished in Judge Tyson’s Dissent in
    Kornegay, and Tiryakian is also distinguishable here.
    As stated in Kornegay, and unlike the facts before us, “Tiryakian addressed a
    prenuptial agreement within the context of an equitable distribution[,] [b]oth parties
    to the agreement were alive at the time of trial and [were able to testify] to the
    circumstances surrounding the execution of the premarital agreement[, and] was not
    before this Court on a ruling” for summary judgment. Kornegay, 176 N.C. App. at 31,
    
    625 S.E.2d at 812
     (Tyson, J., dissenting).
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    Like the spouses in Kornegay, Husband and Wife were both previously married
    and had children by those marriages. There is no evidence of inequality in education
    or business experience between Husband and Wife. Unlike the husband and wife in
    Tiryakian, and similar to the husband and wife in Kornegay, Husband passed away
    before Wife challenged the Agreement. Unlike the lack of an evidentiary bar in
    Tiryakian, here the only evidence Wife presented to demonstrate the alleged
    invalidity of the Agreement is barred by the Dead Man’s Statute.
    C. Enforceability
    Moreover, in terms of the validity of the Agreement, “[i]t is well-settled in this
    jurisdiction that a man and woman contemplating marriage may enter into a valid
    contract with respect to the property and property rights of each after the marriage,
    and such contracts will be enforced as written.” In re Estate of Tucci, 
    94 N.C. App. 428
    , 432-33, 
    380 S.E.2d 782
    , 784-85 (1989) (quoting In re Estate of Loftin, 
    285 N.C. 717
    , 720-21, 
    208 S.E.2d 670
    , 673-74 (1974)); see N.C.G.S. § 52-10(a) (2019).
    “[Prenuptial] agreements are not against public policy, and if freely and intelligently
    and justly made, are considered in many circumstances as conducive to marital
    tranquility and the avoidance of . . . disputes concerning property.” Turner v. Turner,
    
    242 N.C. 533
    , 538, 
    89 S.E.2d 245
    , 248 (1955).
    If we were to rule the Agreement unenforceable, we would “disregard . . . the
    sanctity of a solemn written agreement, probated before a notary public, promptly
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    recorded in the public land records of the county, and unchallenged for over [thirty-
    seven] years”; it would be a “wholesale disregard of the bargained for and settled
    expectations of parties of equal bargaining power in preference to wholly unsupported
    parol averments in direct contradiction to the terms of the written agreement.”
    Kornegay, 176 N.C. App. at 32, 
    625 S.E.2d at 813
     (Tyson, J., dissenting). As Judge
    Tyson notes in the Kornegay Dissent, “[n]o regard [would be] shown for [Husband and
    Wife’s] clearly stated bargain, long after [Husband] is no longer able to explain or
    defend the circumstances surrounding the execution of the agreement.” 
    Id.
     Holding
    the Agreement unenforceable would “only cause great uncertainty into the finality
    and enforceability of an . . . agreement entered into lawfully.” 
    Id.
     Accordingly, here
    Executor’s motion for summary judgment was properly granted.
    Wife further argues that Executor’s motion for summary judgment was not
    properly granted because the Agreement was “revoked” during Husband’s lifetime:
    [Executor’s] Counterclaim is barred in whole or in part
    because the document entitled “[Prenuptial] Agreement”
    was revoked by [Husband] during his lifetime.
    [Executor’s] Counterclaim is barred in whole or in part by
    waiver, as [Husband] evidenced his intent to revoke and
    did revoke the document entitled “[Prenuptial] Agreement”
    during his lifetime.
    [Executor’s] Counterclaim is barred in whole or in part by
    estoppel, as [Husband] evidenced his intent to revoke and
    did revoke the document entitled “[Prenuptial] Agreement”
    during his lifetime.
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    Wife is the only party who claims, in her pleadings, that the Agreement was revoked.
    Wife’s son, from her first marriage, provided an affidavit to support Wife’s pleading
    that the Agreement was revoked. Presuming, arguendo, that Wife’s son’s affidavit is
    admissible, it is irrelevant because Wife merely claimed the Agreement was revoked
    by Husband. One spouse “may not unilaterally cancel a valid marital contract[.]” In
    re Estate of Tucci, 94 N.C. App. at 433, 
    380 S.E.2d at 785
    . Wife’s argument that the
    Agreement was revoked is of no legal significance.
    D. Statute of Limitations
    Wife argues the Agreement is unenforceable on grounds it was signed under
    duress, was procured without financial disclosure, or is unconscionable.        Absent
    admissible evidence the Agreement was void ab initio, the statute of limitations for
    each of these claims is three years. See N.C.G.S. § 1-52(1), (9) (2019). “The statutes
    of limitations contain no exception in favor of [one spouse] against [the other spouse].
    . . . [The] statutes of limitation run as well between spouses as between strangers.”
    Fulp v. Fulp, 
    264 N.C. 20
    , 26, 
    140 S.E.2d 708
    , 713 (1965) (internal quotation marks
    omitted). The Agreement was signed before a notary in 1978. The enforceability and
    validity of the Agreement was not brought into question until 2015, thirty-seven
    years after it was entered into and after any “alleged fraud” was discovered. See
    Swartzberg v. Reserve Life Insurance Co., 
    252 N.C. 150
    , 156, 
    113 S.E.2d 270
    , 276-77
    (1960) (holding that the statute of limitations in N.C.G.S. § 1-52(9) “appl[ies] to all
    - 13 -
    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    actions, both legal and equitable, where fraud is an element, and to all forms of fraud,
    including deception, imposition, duress, and undue influence”).
    Wife argues “the statute of limitations [did not begin] to run, if at all, [until]
    [Husband] died and [Wife] discovered that [Executor] sought to enforce the
    [Prenuptial] Agreement against her.” However, we have held the “cause of action
    accrues when the wrong is complete, even though the injured party did not then know
    the wrong had been committed.” Dawbarn v. Dawbarn, 
    175 N.C. App. 712
    , 717, 
    625 S.E.2d 186
    , 190 (2006) (quoting Davis v. Wrenn, 
    121 N.C. App. 156
    , 158-59, 
    464 S.E.2d 708
    , 710 (1995)); see also Baars v. Campbell Univ., Inc., 
    148 N.C. App. 408
    ,
    415-16, 
    558 S.E.2d 871
    , 876 (2002) (holding that the claim of undue influence accrued
    at the time the deed was executed and filed, which was four years and one month
    beyond the statute of limitations and was, therefore, time-barred). Thus, the claim
    in this case accrued at the time Husband and Wife signed and implemented the
    Agreement, which was thirty-seven years prior to the initiation of this lawsuit in
    2015.    Wife’s argument that the Agreement is unenforceable and voidable is,
    accordingly, time-barred.
    Both parties acknowledge the Agreement is not controlled by the Uniform
    Premarital Agreement Act (“UPAA”), N.C.G.S. §§ 52B-1-11. The UPAA “became
    effective on 1 July 1987 and is applicable to premarital agreements executed on or
    after that date.” Huntley v. Huntley, 
    140 N.C. App. 749
    , 752, 
    538 S.E.2d 239
    , 241
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    CROSLAND V. PATRICK
    Opinion of the Court
    (2000) (citing 1987 N.C. Sess. Laws ch. 473, § 3) (emphasis added).         Here, the
    Agreement was signed in 1978 and therefore is not controlled by the UPAA.
    Accordingly, N.C.G.S. § 52B-9, which states “[a]ny statute of limitations applicable to
    an action asserting a claim for relief under a premarital agreement is tolled during
    the marriage of the parties to the agreement” is not applicable. N.C.G.S. § 52B-9
    (2019). The statute of limitations is not tolled in this case. We hold the three-year
    statute of limitations applies and Executor’s Motion for Summary Judgment was
    properly granted.
    CONCLUSION
    Executor’s Motion for Summary Judgment was properly granted and Wife’s
    cross-motion for summary judgment was properly denied. The order and judgment
    appealed from is affirmed.
    AFFIRMED.
    Judges DILLON and TYSON concur.
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