Wilkin v. 1st Source Bank

1st Source Bank (the bank) (plaintiff) was the personal representative of the estate of Olga Mestrovic. Mestrovic died having owned certain artwork created by Mestrovic’s husband. Under Mestrovic’s will, the artwork was to be sold, and the proceeds of the sale were to be distributed to members of Mestrovic’s family. Mestrovic’s estate also owned real estate, which the bank contracted to sell to Terrence G. Wilkin and Antoinette H. Wilkin (the Wilkins) (defendants). The real estate contract included selling certain personal-property items, such as appliances and curtains, but did not include artwork. After the closing, the Wilkins complained that the real estate property was cluttered with junk and needed to be cleaned out. The bank and the Wilkins agreed that the Wilkins would clean the premises, and if the Wilkins wanted to keep any of the junk items from the property, the bank would let the Wilkins do so. Neither the bank nor the Wilkins knew any artwork was on the premises. While cleaning, the Wilkins discovered and then claimed ownership of the artwork, relying on the bank’s agreement to let the Wilkins keep any personal property items on the premises. The bank petitioned the probate court to determine ownership of the artwork. The probate court ruled that the artwork belonged to the estate and ordered the Wilkins to return the artwork to the bank. The Wilkins appealed.