Mondani v. Cuneo

Opinion

JANES, J.

Andrew Cuneo appeals from a decree determining interests in the estate of his mother, Carolina Cuneo. Respondent Clara Mondani is Andrew’s sister.

1

Appellant claims error in the exclusion of certain evidence. We sustain his contention.

[1010]

In prior proceedings involving this same estate, Andrew and Clara were parties to an appeal to the Supreme Court

(Estate of Cuneo

(1963) 60 Cal.2d 196 [32 Cal.Rptr. 409, 384 P.2d 1, 7 A.L.R.3d 1132]) from a judgment in a consolidated will contest involving four testamentary writings. That superior court judgment had admitted to probate a 1956 holographic codicil written in Italian by Carolina. As written, the codicil had no punctuation whatever. No letters were capitalized in it except the “D’s” and the first letters of persons’ names. It was translated by language experts at the trial on the contests. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment with directions to admit a 1954 will to probate with the 1956 codicil as republished in 1957. The opinion in 60 Cal.2d, at page 199, added punctuation to the codicil (with resultant sentence capitalization) and quoted it as follows:

“ ‘October 15,1956

“ T, Carolina Cuneo, add this to my will. Upon my death my daughter, Clara, is to take my place and act in my stead as if it were I. I strongly recommend Giulia to her. She and Clara will be the owners of everything I possess. While they live no one will be able to disturb them.

“ T sign myself Carolina Cuneo, nee Carolina Poggi.

“ ‘My will is in the possession of De Paoli [an attorney]. After my death Clara will be the manager because Giulia is not good at managing. She is to take my will from De Paoli and pay whatever is to be paid.

“ T sign myself Carolina Cuneo.’ ” (Bracketed insert ours.)

The present controversy was generated by the Supreme Court’s placement of the punctuation indicated in the above quotation—particularly by its insertion of a period after the word “possess” in the first full paragraph of the codicil. In this form, the codicil seems more likely to confer fee interests upon Clara and Julia than life estates, although the latter construction is tenable.