[DOWNLOAD] "Dorothea E. Ritter v. George J. Shamas" by Third District. District Court of Appeal of Florida ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Dorothea E. Ritter v. George J. Shamas
- Author : Third District. District Court of Appeal of Florida
- Release Date : January 10, 1984
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 65 KB
Description
Appellee Shamas, the attorney for Mrs. Curry, drafted a will for her in which he was named beneficiary of a valuable letter written by George Washington to his Masonic Lodge. That will was not admitted to probate because it was succeeded by a will executed in November, 1980.1{/Cite} Shamas instituted this action against the estate to recover the same letter which he claims was delivered to him as a gift inter vivos. On the evening of delivery, Shamas allegedly left the letter at the decedent's house -- for some seven months -- because he was en route to another destination. At the time of Mrs. Curry's death the letter was found in the possession of her friend, Mrs. Leech. Appellant, the personal representative and defendant below, raises two issues by this appeal: (1) the trial court erred in determining that the burden of proof required of the plaintiff was only the greater weight of the evidence, and (2) the trial court erred by refusing to permit the defendant's witness to testify to out-of-court statements of the decedent being offered to demonstrate that the decedent had no intent to give the letters to Shamas as a gift. Appellant is correct on both points.