Allred v. Allred

In 1972, David and Inez Allred (the parents) (plaintiffs) leased commercial property they had recently purchased to a company later known as Qwest Communications (Qwest). In 1982, the parents signed nine trust documents prepared by their son, Richard (defendant), in which Richard and his wife were named as trustees for trusts benefitting Richard and other family members. The parents also signed quitclaim deeds conveying their interest in the property to the trusts. Even after the parents conveyed the property to the trusts, they continued to function as landlords to the property, collecting rent from Qwest and reporting the rent as income on their tax returns, some of which Richard prepared. The parents continued to make repairs on the property at the request of Qwest and negotiated and signed lease renewals with Qwest in which the parents were designated as the property owners. They paid taxes on the property or arranged for Qwest to pay the taxes. In 1991, the parents asked Richard to convey the property back to them so they could donate the property to a church. Richard refused but did not prevent the parents from collecting rent from Qwest and performing management duties until nine years after the parents asked for the property back. In 2001, the parents sued the trusts and Richard, seeking summary judgement for their claim to the property on the grounds of adverse possession. The court denied the summary-judgment motion, and the parents appealed.