Opinion ID: 1181714
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Amended Petition

Text: COMES Now the Plaintiff, Cornell University, by its Attorneys, Martindell, Carey, Brown & Brabets, of Hutchinson, Kansas, and in compliance with the Court's Rulings on Defendants' Motion to Strike and to Make Definite and Certain, for its Amended Petition alleges and states: 1. That it is a Corporation, organized and existing under and by virtue of the Laws of the State of New York, with its principal office and post office address at Ithaca, New York; that it is a nonprofit educational institution, engaged in literary, scientific, engineering and other research, supported largely by endowments and gifts. 2. That each and all of the Defendants are non-residents of the State of Kansas, and are residents of the State of Illinois; that Robert P. Howard and Eleanor Howard are husband and wife; Katherine Roach Jackson and Winfield H. Jackson are wife and husband, and Rosalie Roach Youngburg and Paul F. Youngburg are wife and husband. 3. That one Fred H.P. Howard, now deceased, was an alumnus of Cornell University; that at the time of his death he was a widower residing in Chicago, Illinois, and left no child or children, natural or adopted, nor any grandchild or grandchildren surviving him. 4. That said Fred H.P. Howard, died testate in Chicago, Illinois on the first day of July, 1945, and that his Last Will and Testament was duly admitted to probate and record in the Probate Court of Cook County, Illinois on the fourth day of September, 1945, and that The Northern Trust Company of Chicago, Illinois, which was named as Executor in said Will, was appointed and qualified as Executor of the Estate of said Fred H.P. Howard, Deceased, a copy of said Will is attached to the original petition filed in this Cause, marked Exhibit A and made a part hereof. 5. That said Will contained provisions in part as follows: (Here appears excerpts from the will of the decedent making The Northern Trust Company his executor and trustee with directions to that corporation to turn over to plaintiff by proper conveyances, after the death of the decedent's wife, all property real and personal remaining in his estate). 6. That Edith W. Howard predeceased the said Fred H.P. Howard, and upon the death of Fred H.P. Howard all of his property, of every kind and nature, passed to this Plaintiff, subject only to debts and expense of administration. 7. That said Estate has been fully administered and all debts and claims paid and this Plaintiff has succeeded to all of the property and rights of the said Fred H.P. Howard, deceased. 8. That on the 31st day of January, 1947, an authenticated copy of the Last Will and Testament of Fred H.P. Howard, deceased, and Order of Proof of Will and Granting Letters Testamentary under the Seal of the Clerk of the Probate Court of Cook County, Illinois was duly admitted to Probate and record in the Probate Court of Logan County, Kansas, at which time the Probate Court of Logan County, Kansas found that administration of the Estate of Fred H.P. Howard was unnecessary in the State of Kansas. 9. Plaintiff further states that prior to June 22, 1945, and at the time of his death, Fred H.P. Howard was the owner of, and in possession of the following described real estate situated in Logan County, Kansas, to-Wit: (Here follows legal description of four quarter sections of land). 10. Plaintiff further states that the records in the office of the Register of Deeds of Logan County, Kansas in Deed Record Book No. 45 at page 52, shows a warranty deed, purporting to be dated June 22, 1945, purporting to be signed by Fred H.P. Howard, and purporting to convey an undivided one-half interest in the above-described real estate to Robert P. Howard and to Katherine Roach Jackson and Rosalie Roach Youngburg, an undivided one-fourth interest each in the above-described real estate. 11. Plaintiff states that the said Deed was not filed for record until January 18, 1946, over six months after the death of said purported grantor, Fred H.P. Howard. 12. Plaintiff states that it does not know whether said deed was signed by Fred H.P. Howard, or not, and while said record above referred to shows that Fred H.P. Howard personally appeared before Mac J. Novak, a Notary Public, to acknowledge said Deed Plaintiff alleges that Fred H.P. Howard did not personally appear before said Notary Public and did not acknowledge said deed before or to said Notary Public. 13. Plaintiff states that if Fred H.P. Howard did sign said deed, which fact Plaintiff does not admit, that said deed is null and void and of no force and effect for the following reasons, to-wit: ( a ) There was no valid delivery of said deed in the lifetime of said Fred H.P. Howard, the purported grantor therein. ( b ) At the time of the death of said Fred H.P. Howard, said deed was incomplete in this, that no grantee whatever was named in said Deed, the space left in said deed where the name of the grantee or grantees was to be inserted was wholly blank. ( c ) The names of the Grantees, as they appear of record were inserted in the deed after the death of Fred H.P. Howard by Leonard H. Roach, or at his direction, who had no power or authority to insert said names in said deed, the agency of said party, if any such agency existed, and Plaintiff specifically denies that such agency ever existed, was terminated by the death of said Fred H.P. Howard. ( d ) That there was no valid consideration given for said Deed. ( e ) Leonard H. Roach never had authority from Fred H.P. Howard to insert the names of the grantees in said purported Deed. ( f ) Said Fred H.P. Howard was of unsound mind at the time said purported deed was purportedly executed, and he was not mentally competent at said time to make, execute or deliver said purported deed. ( g ) Said purported deed was procured and obtained by, through and as a result of undue influence exercised and practiced upon Fred H.P. Howard by Leonard H. Roach as follows: Said Leonard H. Roach was the confidential friend and adviser of said Fred H.P. Howard, handling and dealing with the real estate of said Fred H.P. Howard continuously over a number of years up until the last time Mr. Fred H.P. Howard went to the hospital, and on the date the deed in question was supposedly signed, the said Leonard H. Roach went to the Chicago Osteopathic Hospital where Fred H.P. Howard was then confined and secured permission to take him from said hospital by representing he would take Mr. Howard out for a ride and some fresh air. That at said time Fred H.P. Howard was mentally incompetent to transact any business or execute any deed or deeds, but notwithstanding said fact, said Leonard H. Roach secretly and clandestinely took said Fred H.P. Howard to the home of Fred H.P. Howard, got the papers and files of said Fred H.P. Howard and removed the same, getting everyone else out of the room where he had Fred H.P. Howard, and then and there overcame the feeble and incompetent mind of Fred H.P. Morgan and had him sign not only the deed in question, but also various other deeds affecting all of, or an interest in fourteen (14) other quarter sections of land located in South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Gove County, Kansas, and that none of the deeds had the name of any grantee written therein at the time they were supposedly signed, and the said Leonard H. Roach, at said time represented that the names of the grantees were left blank in all of said deeds to facilitate or make easier the selling of said land, but that at said time said Fred H.P. Howard did not know what he was doing and did not realize he was signing a deed or deeds. That said Leonard H. Roach had all of said deeds prepared in advance by his Secretary, Adda M. Craig, before he had had any talk with Fred H.P. Howard about executing any deeds, or who the grantees in said deeds would be. That said Leonard H. Roach, took advantage of his confidential relationship with Fred H.P. Howard, and later, and after the death of Fred H.P. Howard, filled in the names of two of his daughters in the deed in question and all the other deeds, but for his own benefit, insofar as any interest of his daughters in said land was concerned. ( h ) The deed in question to the Logan County, Kansas land, and all the other deeds were dated on a different day from the day on which they were supposedly signed, and were not dated at the time they were supposedly signed, and were procured by false and fraudulent representations made by Leonard H. Roach that the names of the grantees were omitted from said deeds for convenience in selling the lands therein described, when at the time Leonard H. Roach intended to insert the names of his daughters in each of said deeds, without any consideration being paid therefor. ( i ) The deed in question to the Logan County, Kansas land was materially altered after it was supposedly signed by including an additional land description in said deed, which was not in said deed when it was supposedly signed by Fred H.P. Howard. 14. Plaintiff further states that after the death of Fred H.P. Howard, and after his estate was settled, that it procured from The Northern Trust Company, as Trustee of the Fred H.P. Howard Estate, a Quit Claim Deed to the above described real estate in Logan County, Kansas, which deed was filed for record in the office of the Register of Deeds of Logan County, Kansas on the 23rd day of August, 1947, and duly recorded in book 45 at page 249 in said office. 15. Plaintiff further states that by reason of all the facts aforesaid it has succeeded to all of the rights of Fred H.P. Howard to bring this action to set aside the deed hereinbefore described which was recorded in book 45 at page 52 in the Office of the Register of Deeds of Logan County, Kansas. 16. Plaintiff further states that said Fred H.P. Howard left no personal property in the State of Kansas, and that all debts of his estate have been paid, and there is in fact no reason for administration of his Estate in the State of Kansas. 17. Plaintiff further states that the determination of questions involved in this action are not necessary to make final settlement and distribution of the Estate of Fred H.P. Howard, deceased; that there is no dispute among or between heirs or devisees or legatees as such under the Will of said Fred H.P. Howard, deceased, or any question of descent or distribution of the property hereinbefore specifically described, in this action, and the determination of the questions involved herein would not alter or affect the final settlement and distribution of the Fred H.P. Howard Estate, said Estate having been settled in the Probate Court of Cook County, Illinois, and Defendants are not in any way interested in the Estate of said Fred H.P. Howard. 18. Plaintiff states that by reason of all the facts aforesaid, it is entitled to have the deed hereinbefore described which was recorded in book 45, page 52, in the office of the Register of Deeds of Logan County, Kansas, cancelled, set aside and held for naught.