Estate of Wells v. Estate of Smith
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
576 A.2d 707 (1990)
- Written by Samantha Arena, JD
Facts
In 1955, Lillian Wells (defendant) leased a property to Blanche Smith (plaintiff). During the first year of the lease, Smith paid monthly rent, in addition to utilities. Thereafter, Wells and Smith agreed that, instead of rent, Smith would pay all expenses and taxes associated with the property and make all repairs. In 1960, Wells died testate, leaving all of her property to Wilbert Jenkins and Francis Wells. Smith attempted to inform Jenkins of Wells’s death by letter, acknowledging therein that she was living in the home owned by Wells. The letter, however, was returned as undeliverable. Thereafter, Smith made improvements to the property in addition to ordinary maintenance and repairs. In 1985, Smith brought an action to establish title to the property by adverse possession. Wells’s estate moved for summary judgment, contending that Smith’s possession was never hostile or adverse, but only permissive. The trial court found in Smith’s favor, concluding that Smith had gained title by adverse possession upon Wells’s 1960 death, which had destroyed the previously existing tenancy at will. The Wells estate appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rogers, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 807,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
