NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES V. CAMBRIDGE TRUST CO. 370 Mass. 303, 346 N.E.2d 879 CASE BRIEF

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES V. CAMBRIDGE TRUST CO.

370 Mass. 303, 346 N.E.2d 879 (1976)

NATURE OF THE CASE: National Academy (P) sought revocation of payments made by Cambridge (D) to decedent's widow after the decedent's wife had remarried and appealed an affirmation of the probate court's decision, which ordered the bank to restore the erroneous payments but striking probate court's decision that permitted D to charge the estate for legal services the bank incurred in a recovery action. D appealed.

FACTS: Testator established a trust consisting of most of his estate, the income from which was payable to his widow during her life, or until she remarried. Upon the widow's death or remarriage, the trust was to be held for the benefit of the National Academy of Sciences (P). Testator's widow remarried, but failed to notify the Trustee (D) of this fact. She directed that her income payments be made to her brother-in-law. D continued making payments until the widow's death over twenty years after her remarriage. D did not know that the widow had remarried until after her death. D submitted its accounts for the period between the widow's remarriage and about a year before her death to the probate court: the accounts were allowed. P did not challenge them at the time they were admitted because it was unaware of the widow's remarriage. The lower court found in P's favor, holding that the account statements prepared by D constituted a representation to P that Testator's widow remained unmarried, and continued to be the income beneficiary of the trust. The court found that D's representations constituted fraud, because it had a duty to be aware of the true circumstances. The probate court ordered D to restore $114,314.18 to the trust. D appealed.

ISSUE:

RULE OF LAW:

HOLDING AND DECISION:

LEGAL ANALYSIS:

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