Snow v. Brown9/4/2001
(REGULAR CALENDAR)
APPEAL from the Franklin County Probate Court.
Larry E. Brown, pro se, brings this appeal from a judgment of the Franklin County Probate Court. However, before we reach the merits of the instant case, a better understanding of the current status of this action requires a review of other litigation which has taken place since the infancy of litigation, now some six years old, related to the probate case now before us.
Adhering to the law-of-the-case doctrine, we glean the pertinent facts giving rise to the instant case from a prior related appeal, Snow v. Brown (Sept. 26, 2000), Franklin App. No. 99AP-1234, unreported ("Brown I"):
Defendant-appellant, Larry E. Brown, has appealed the July 27, 1999 judgment entry of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas finding him liable for the death of his former wife, Joyce Brown, and awarding $850,000 in damages to plaintiff-appellee, Barry M. Snow, Administrator of the Estate of Joyce Brown. Appellant has also appealed the trial court's disposition of several post-trial motions. On July 21, 2000, appellee moved to dismiss this appeal for lack of a timely filed notice of appeal. We * affirm the judgment entry.
Appellee commenced this action against appellant on April 16, 1998, raising claims for wrongful death and survivorship. The complaint alleged that appellant had intentionally killed his wife, appellee's decedent, by means of physical assault and incineration in Hocking County, Ohio, on June 21, 1996. A jury trial commenced on July 7, 1999 and, on July 19, 1999, the jury returned verdicts in favor of appellee. The trial court subsequently entered judgment on July 27, 1999.
As indicated above, the record before us reveals that the events giving rise to this case began in June 1996, when Larry Brown's wife, Joyce J. Brown, was killed. The two had been married for approximately six years. At the time, Mr. Brown claimed, and continues to maintain, that her death was caused by her accidentally backing her Jeep down a thirty-five-foot embankment, and then becoming engulfed in flames. He claimed that he tried to save her, but that he fell and injured himself in the process of trying to save her.
Mr. Brown was ultimately indicted and tried on charges of murder, arson, and insurance fraud. Brown was accused of, inter alia, intentionally causing his wife's death by strangling her and then setting the vehicle on fire. Mr. Brown was acquitted in the criminal case.
As indicated above in Brown I, in April 1998, Barry M. Snow, administrator of the estate of Joyce J. Brown, initiated a "civil" murder case against Mr. Brown in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Snow, the decedent's son by a prior marriage, alleged that Brown "intentionally and feloniously" caused his wife's death "by means of physical assault and incineration."
The jury ultimately found Mr. Brown civilly liable for the intentional and felonious death of his wife. The jury awarded Mr. Snow $850,000 in total damages. The trial court entered judgment on July 27, 1999, and this court ultimately affirmed in Brown I. In December 1999, counsel for the estate's administrator/executor commenced proceedings in the Franklin County Probate Court. First, a complaint for declaratory judgment and concealment of assets was filed in order to determine heirship and ownership of assets. Pursuant to R.C. Chapter 2105, a "murderer not to inherit" action was commenced to ensure that Mr. Brown received no benefit from Ms. Brown's estate.
Counsel for appellant filed an answer in which he denied, inter alia, that he "intentionally and feloniously" killed his wife. Accordingly,
Page 1 2 3 Ohio Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|