Court Opinion

ID: 9627850
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 08:57:01.642586+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:06:51.674771
License: Public Domain

BISTLINE, Justice,
specially concurring.
This appeal is best decided by closely adhering to the basis of Judge Newhouse’s written decision. It is not long and tedious, nor difficult of comprehension:
The court, after trial, finds and determines that the deceased properly executed the change of beneficiary forms, changing the beneficiary of the policies from Ruby Groshong to Joanne Groshong. This court is of the opinion that the evidence, and the stipulation of the parties shows an intention by the deceased to effectuate this change, plus his acts of execution carrying out his intention. Such is a substantial compliance sufficient to transfer the beneficiary. This court cannot help but note that the second wife is obviously the object of the deceased’s bounty after the divorce and new marriage. R., p. 111.
Being unable to find in the Clerk’s Record the stipulation which is mentioned, and not finding it among the exhibits, the only place to turn was to the Reporter’s Transcript. Here, too, it is not listed as an Exhibit. But it is found therein where it was read into the record. First of all, there was a reference by Mr. Goss to a stipulation of facts which would be presented to the court, Tr., p. 1. In turn, there was a colloquy between counsel as to whether the stipulation would be marked as an exhibit, or filed. A suggestion was made that it would be filed with the court, which the court okayed. It was not filed with the clerk, however, or we would have it. Various exhibits were stipulated in, and Ruby Groshong’s case rested. Joanne Groshong’s case opened with the reading into evidence of a portion of the aforementioned stipulation, which portion was:
That Mr. Max Buffi, then an employee of the plaintiff witnessed Timothy p. Groshong execute change of beneficiary forms designed and approved by Investor’s Diversified Services for the pur*853poses of changing the designation of beneficiaries in the IDS Marketing Corporation Manager’s Retirement Plan and the Investor’s Diversified Services Career Distributor’s Retirement Plan.
These forms were signed by Mr. Groshong in his office on the 23rd day of June, 1983 and Max Buffi added his signature at the request of Mr. Groshong in order to signify that Mr. Buffi had officially witnessed Mr. Groshong’s signature on each of the two forms.
In each case, the beneficiary designated by Mr. Groshong was his wife, JoAnne V. Groshong, one of the defendants herein. Mr. Groshong was not under the influence of any intoxicants or drugs at the time nor did he give any signs of executing these forms as a result of any duress or coercion. Tr., pp. 8-9.
That stipulation standing alone was a sufficient basis for the decision which Judge Newhouse reached. Those are stipulated facts. While it may have been the intention of Ruby’s counsel to stipulate that Max Buffi would have so testified had he been present, the stipulation read into the record was not couched in such qualified language. At the same time, in the earlier colloquy counsel for Ruby Groshong initially had stated his intention to contact Buffi during the ensuing week “and just justify for my own conscience that he in fact did witness what he said he witnessed in the stipulation of facts. If I’m satisfied with that, we won’t have anything further to do with Mr. Buffi. If I’m not, Mr. Lojek and I are agreed that I could take his deposition and we would submit that to the court for the court’s review.”
Only one conclusion can be drawn. The stipulation which later was read into the record, supra, was intended to be a stipulation of facts which would stand as such until counsel for Ruby passed judgment on credibility of Mr. Buffi, and unless counsel found him incredible, the stipulation remained intact and binding. It may to some seem unusual, but to my mind it was counsel’s commendable display of reasonable respect for the witness. There is no empirical data which casts doubt on the ability of an attorney to assess another person’s candor and honesty, just as judges are called upon to do.
On the other hand, Bakes, J., in dissent, refers to Max Buffi as JoAnne’s friend. One might also speculate that he was a friend to all concerned, and merely knew what transpired, and told it, and was believed.