A-23-172, Dale and Carol Duerfeldt v. Vera Ploeger and Carol Hamilton (Appellants)
Richardson County, District Court, Judge Julie D. Smith
Attorneys for Appellant: David A. Domina (DominaLaw Group, PC LLO) and Douglas E. Merz (Weaver & Merz)
Attorneys for Appellees Duerfeldts: Terry C. Dougherty and Todd W. Weidemann (Woods Aitken LLP)
Civil Action: Summary Judgment, Partition
Action Taken by Trial Court: Elmer and Elizabeth (“Esther”) Duerfeldt are the parents of Dale Duerfeldt, Carol Hamilton, Vera Ploeger, and Judy Burgett. Elmer and Esther acquired a substantial amount of real estate during their marriage. When Elmer died in 2006, Esther disclaimed a one-half interest in the property, and each of their children received a one-eighth interest in the property. In May 2018, Dale and his wife (“Duerfeldts”) purchased Esther’s one-half interest in nine parcels of real property. Several months later, the Duerfeldts filed a “Complaint for Partition, to Terminate Severed Mineral Interests, and to Quiet Title.” In response, Ploeger and Hamilton alleged that the 2018 sale of Esther’s one-half interest of those nine parcels to the Duerfeldts was obtained as a result of undue influence, mistake, and fraud, and therefore the conveyance was invalid. In a partial summary judgment order, the district court rejected the claims of undue influence, fraud, or mistake and found that the Duerfeldts were entitled to partition.
Assignments of Error on Appeal: Ploeger and Hamilton assign that the district court erred (1) on two occasions when it refused to allow discovery of Esther’s medical records before considering summary judgment; (2) when it refused to consider the affidavit of Hamilton, and erroneously found it inconsistent with deposition testimony; (3) when it refused to consider the affidavit of Ploeger, and erroneously found it inconsistent with deposition testimony; and (4) when it granted partial summary judgment for the Duerfeldts.