Matter of Estate of Zent
North Dakota Supreme Court
459 N.W.2d 795 (1990)
- Written by Josh Lee, JD
Facts
Ann Johnson (plaintiff) met John Zent in 1979. Johnson and Zent had a personal relationship until Zent’s death in 1988. Johnson filed a claim against Zent’s estate (Estate) (defendant) for compensation for services that she had rendered to Zent prior to his passing. Johnson testified that, as Zent suffered from strokes and Alzheimer’s disease, she became his “houseservant and nursemaid.” Johnson testified that Zent was physically incapacitated for the last three years of his life and mentally incapacitated for the last year. Johnson’s testimony was corroborated by Zent’s treating physician. The Estate disallowed Johnson’s claim in its entirety. Johnson requested a hearing in county court, which found that there was no express or implied contract and no unjust enrichment. The county court found that Johnson had conferred her services gratuitously. Johnson appealed, arguing that the county court had erred in finding that there was no unjust enrichment or implied-in-law contract.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Levine, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 804,000 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.
