In re Doar (Brunson)

Beginning in late 2000, Hermina Brunson was treated on a monthly basis by psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Lewis at a hospital. Hermina was also treated on a biweekly basis by a psychologist. Dr. Lewis diagnosed Brunson with chronic schizophrenia paranoid type. Beginning in late 2001, Hermina began suffering from cognitive impairment, loss of memory, and inability to function. Hermina heard voices and was delusional, believing that she was losing or had lost the deed to her house. Around the same time, Brunson was reportedly extremely anxious and fearful of her brother, Joseph Brunson. Dr. Lewis observed the siblings’ interactions and believed that Joseph was mistreating his sister. After Hermina transferred the deed for her home to her and Joseph as joint tenants, Hermina and Joseph signed an agreement with Freedom Financial Senior Funding Corp. (Freedom Financial) (defendant) for a $300,000 reverse mortgage on the home. In June 2003, Hermina and Joseph signed a second, $375,000 reverse mortgage, which paid off the first reverse mortgage and left only the second one outstanding. Eventually, the home went into foreclosure proceedings, which were stayed in 2009 pending a guardianship proceeding initiated by the state (plaintiff). An appointed guardian for Hermina claimed that Hermina had lacked capacity to transfer the deed and enter into reverse mortgages and sought a court order revoking the transactions. Freedom Financial appeared in the matter and argued that Hermina had capacity. To that end, Freedom Financial submitted evidence of a certificate completed by a person, Rosa Colarte. Colarte certified that Hermina had received counseling over the phone prior to the June 2003 reverse-mortgage transaction, but Colarte was not made available to testify regarding the extent of the counseling or Hermina’s understanding.