Patterson-Fowlkes v. Chancey
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Caveator Lisa Patterson-Fowlkes appealed a superior court's denial of her motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or in the alternative, motion for a new trial, following the entry of a final judgment on a jury verdict which upheld the last will and testament of her grandmother, Ruth Chancey Wright ("Wright"). The sole challenge on appeal was that Wright lacked the capacity necessary to execute the will. Wright executed her will on November 1, 2005, when she was 90 years old. She died three years later. Wright's grandson and Patterson-Fowlkes's brother, Bobby Chancey ("Chancey ") petitioned to probate the will. Shortly after, Patterson-Fowlkes filed her caveat. The probate court denied the caveat and upheld the will. Patterson-Fowlkes appealed to the superior court, and the case was tried before a jury, which rendered a verdict upholding the will. After its review of the lower courts' records, the Supreme Court found that the execution of Wright's will was videotaped. Patterson-Fowlkes contended that Wright was unable to answer simple questions such as recalling her family members and identifying the property subject to the will. However, the videotape revealed that when asked, Wright immediately named her sister, brother, and sister's children. She further identified her two grandchildren to whom her property was bequeathed and even her great- grandchildren. Wright mistakenly claimed that she owned two separate 100-acre tracts that she purchased for Patterson-Fowlkes and Chancey. While this was inaccurate, when asked what she wanted to do with her land, Wright answered how she wanted the property disposed. The Court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to authorize the jury to find that Wright possessed the capacity to execute the will in question: "significantly, the jury viewed the videotape of the will's execution, which is a linchpin of Patterson-Fowlkes's challenge." Accordingly, the Court affirmed the superior court's to deny Patterson-Fowlkes' motions.
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