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damageswill

will

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Matteson v. Walsh, 79 Mass.App.Ct. 402, 947 N.E.2d 44

Facts

The property in question was inherited from the parties' mother, Dorothy G. Walsh, who devised it to Walsh as a life tenant and then to the heirs of Walsh, Matteson, and their sister Catherine T. Baisly. Walsh failed to pay property taxes and maintain the property, leading to a notice of tax taking and significant deterioration of the buildings. Matteson and Baisly paid the delinquent taxes and incurred substantial repair costs, prompting Matteson to sue Walsh for waste.

The property was inherited by Dorothy G. Walsh, the testator and the parties' mother in 1961; she devised it in her 1977 will to Walsh, as life tenant, and thereafter to the heirs of Walsh, Matteson, and Baisly.

Issue

Did Walsh commit waste by failing to pay property taxes and maintain the property, and what are the implications for the determination of heirs under the will?

Rule

A life tenant has a duty to preserve the estate for the benefit of the remaindermen and may be held liable for waste, which is defined as an unreasonable or improper use or neglect of property that results in substantial injury.

Waste has been defined as 'an unreasonable or improper use, abuse, mismanagement, or omission of duty touching real estate by one rightfully in possession, which results in its substantial injury.'

Analysis

The court found that Walsh's failure to pay taxes constituted waste, as it endangered the remaindermen's interest, and his neglect of the property led to substantial deterioration, also amounting to waste. The judge determined that the damages awarded to Matteson were justified based on the evidence of neglect and the necessity of repairs, which Walsh had acknowledged.

The judge found that Walsh had committed waste with respect to the nonpayment of taxes resulting in a tax-taking by the town and that Walsh had committed waste with respect to the deterioration of the buildings.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the award to Matteson for damages and the termination of Walsh's life estate, but reversed the portion granting Walsh a fee interest in common, determining that the property should pass to the holders of the remainder interest.

So much of the judgment that grants an interest in common in the property at issue to Walsh is to be vacated; that portion of the judgment that grants a one-third undivided interest in the property in common to each of Matteson and Baisly is affirmed.

Who won?

Elizabeth Gay Matteson prevailed in the case, as the court upheld her claims of waste against Walsh and awarded her damages for the taxes and repairs incurred due to Walsh's neglect.

The judge concluded that Walsh's failure to pay the property taxes constituted waste, essentially because his failure to do so endangered the remaindermen's interest.

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