Langan v. Langan

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Merced County setting aside a judgment.

The proceeding was instituted by Thomas F. Langan for the probate of the will of Honora Langan. John A. Langan and others opposed the admission of the will to probate, and filed a contest, in which they alleged as grounds of opposition: 1. That the instrument was not the last will of the deceased; 2. That the deceased, at the time of signing the alleged will, was not of sound mind; 3. That the deceased did not sign the will, nor was it signed by any person in her presence or under her direction, and that she never, in the presence of supposed witnesses, declared the same to be her will; and 4. That at the time the will was signed the decedent was acting under the restraint, undue influence, and fraudulent representations of Thomas F. Langan, the residuary legatee and executor, and of his wife, Jane Langan. On the contest so raised, special issues were framed and submitted to the jury as follows: 1. Was the said Honora Langan, deceased, of sound mind at the time of the execution of said alleged will? 2. Was the said alleged will signed by the said Honora Langan? 3. Was the said alleged will declared by said Honora Langan to be her last will, and attested as required by law? 4. If said alleged will was signed by said Honora Langan or by some one at her request, was she, said Honora Langan, then under the duress or undue influence of, or acting by the menace or fraud of, Thomas F. Langan and Jane Langan, his wife, or of either of them? 5. Was the. instrument now offered for probate subscribed at the end thereof by the testatrix, or by some person for her and in her behalf, in her presence and by her direction? 6. Was the name of the said Honora Langan signed to said instrument at the end thereof by another person than herself, but under her direction and in her presence and at her request? 7. Did such other person who so signed her name to said instrument thereupon, at her request and in her presence, write his own name near said signature of said Honora Langan as a witness to her said signature?

The jury returned a general verdict in favor of the contestants; and of the special issues, the fifth and sixth were answered in the affirmative, the third and seventh in the negative, and on the first, second, and fourth, the jury disagreed. Upon this verdict a judgment denying the probate was entered, which, on motion of the proponent, was subsequently vacated. The further facts are stated in the opinion.