Saturday, September 1, 2012

Suit questions sale of dead man's land

CANTON — One year before he died, Deacon Wilbert Coleman agreed to sell his family’s homestead, a 30-acre plot in Belmont County.

But Coleman’s mental state when the sale occurred and the $1,250 price has prompted questions from relatives and the administrator of Coleman’s estate.

Coleman’s estate last week filed a lawsuit in Stark County Common Pleas Court trying to regain possession of the land and collect any payments the buyers received when they leased mineral rights for the property to XTO Energy. The estate also wants the court to void a lease with XTO Energy.

The lawsuit questions whether Coleman — because Stark County Probate Court had declared him incompetent in 2009 — understood what he was doing when he agreed to sell the land in 2011. There also is no record that he received the $1,250 noted in the sale.

As for the Coleman homestead, held by the family for more than 60 years, the lawsuit suggests the land was worth $130,000.

Full Article & Source:
Suit questions sale of dead man's land

4 comments:

Thelma said...

Wouldn't take me even five minutes on a jury to void the sale.

dennis said...

It is great to have found your website. For 3 years I have been struggling with a civil case and losing repeatedly while the other side wins every time.
Of course, I was sure this was growing to be a big scandal—until I read the cases here.

I am almost sorry to complain except my case is an outrage also.

Nevertheless, I now feel, what chance do I have if the Judges have no compassion for people’s lives, certainly they have none just for one’s money.

There is no elderly abuse, no disability, no caretaker, Guardians and Conservators in our cases, yet, my sister and I each have a similar disheartening case as those here.

Mine is from probate and hers is in family law.

In each, the Judges ignore the rules and case law, award extreme attorney fees and blame us!

The M.O. is the same and I am afraid it is consistent in every Courthouse.

All it takes is for one side to somehow get on the inside of the shadow legal system, then they can pull the other side into a rigged series of litigation.

Tim said...

proof that while death may be final -- the litigation is ad indefinum

BTW -- Defendant James Malott in the Mollie Florkey/Jane Branson case acquired approx 13 acres from his mom for a dollar. Then, if I am not mistaken, once he sold his mom's house under his POA authority word is he maybe chopped off another couple acres from the farm (to add to his $1 13 acres) without open and honest disclosure .... and the guy is even an FBI agent

Then there is another vicitm I will not name -- but a former "bigamous wife" seems to have her hands on several parcels of real estate involving the ward's $$$ where property has been transferred under $10 dollar quick claim deeds.

and let's never forget the spouse of another victim -- the guardian transferred her the marital residence (and the mortgage debt)"in consideration of her love and companionship" and yet in the same breath the guardian claimed the wife was "unfit/unsuitable" to be her husband's guardian ... (If someone can explain this one to me I would appreciate it -- I mean really, a man gives a woman a house in exchange for her love and companionship and then wishes the woman be kept from his life ??? Oh, this makes sense -- NOT )

StandUp said...

Colemen can't sell land if he was a ward of the state whether he knew what he was doing or not.