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Contracts Keyed to Kuney
Davis v. Jacoby
Citation:
1 Cal. 2d 370, 34 P.2d 1026 (1934).
ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Mrs. Davis was the niece of Mrs. Whitehead. Prior to her marriage to Mr. Davis, Mrs. Davis lived for a significant time with the Whiteheads. Mr. and Mrs. Whitehead had no children of their own and treated Mrs. Davis like their own daughter. In 1913, Mrs. Davis married Mr. Davis and moved to his home in Canada. Between 1913 and 1931, the Davises and Whiteheads often visited each other and had a close relationship. In 1930, Mrs. Whitehead’s health began to fail and, in 1931, Mr. Whitehead placed Mrs. Whitehead in a private hospital. Mr. Whitehead’s health also began to fail around this time and he started to experience financial troubles.
In March 1931, Mr. Whitehead began writing the Davises about the Whiteheads’ troubles. On April 9, 1931, Mr. Whitehead expressed that he was having financial troubles as well and stated that having Mr. Davis in California with him would be helpful. On April 12, 1931, Mr. Whitehead wrote again with a definite offer to the Davises requesting Mrs. Davis help with Mrs. Whitehead and Mr. Davis help with finances until both the Whiteheads death. Mr. Whitehead promised in exchange for such services Mrs. Davis would inherit the Whiteheads’ entire estate. Mr. Davis received the letter on April 14 at his place of employment, and read the letter to Mrs. Davis over the phone. Mr. Davis then immediately sent a letter via air mail to Mr. Whitehead accepting his proposition and advising that they could not leave until April 25 because Mr. Davis needed to appear in court on April 22 as an executor of his mother’s estate. On April 15, Mr. Whitehead wrote acknowledging receipt of the April 14 letter.
On April 22, 1931, Mr. Whitehead committed suicide and, upon notice of such, the Davises left immediately for California. Mrs. Davis then commenced care for Mrs. Whitehead until Mrs. Whitehead’s death on May 30, 1931. Following Mrs. Whitehead’s death, the Davises learned information regarding inheritance of the estate was incorrect and the Whiteheads’ wills devised the estate to Mr. Whitehead’s nephews: Geoff Double and Rupert Whitehead.
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