Dubree v. Blackwell, 67 S.W.3d 286 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2001, no pet.).
Friend purchased a house and placed it in Donor’s name. Later, Donor
deeded the house to Friend. Donor also placed Friend’s name on a joint
account with right of survivorship. After Donor’s death, the sole
beneficiary of Donor’s will sued to set aside the deed and bank account
contract based on allegations of Donor’s lack of capacity and that
Friend asserted undue influence on Donor. The jury found that Donor had
capacity and was not subject to undue influence. Beneficiary appealed.
The appellate court affirmed. The court reviewed the evidence in detail
and found that the jury’s findings were not against the great weight and
preponderance of the evidence and thus were not manifestly unjust.
Moral: A person attempting to show lack of capacity or undue influence
needs to present convincing evidence at trial because appellate courts
are very reluctant to overturn the findings of a jury.