TAYE v.DRUMGOOLE Part-II
Conservator Fessha Taye brought this litigation on behalf of conservatee Ida McQueen, a mentally and physically disabled elder, against several of McQueen's family members and the family's legal representative.[1] Specifically, it was claimed that these individuals violated the terms of a trust set up for McQueen by her father when they sold the family residence, in which McQueen held a life estate, without her consent or knowledge and then misappropriated the entirety of the sales proceeds for their own use.
Following a jury trial, Taye, on McQueen's behalf (respondent), obtained an award of $99,900 in damages against three of five defendants who proceeded to trial––Alameda County attorney Carol Veres Reed (the family attorney), trustee Ray Blackshire (McQueen's uncle), and Earline Drumgoole (McQueen's sister) (collectively referred to as appellants).[2] The jury found each appellant liable on various causes of action, including financial elder abuse, concealment, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, and negligence. After the trial, the court awarded respondent $320,748.25 in attorney fees and conservatorship costs.
Appellants have filed this appeal claiming multiple instances of prejudicial error, including that the instructions given to the jury on the collateral source rule and the Rules of Professional Conduct were erroneous. Appellants also claim that the trial court unduly restricted appellant Reed's testimony and barred admission of relevant evidence so that she was not allowed to provide a full explanation on the reasonableness of her actions as it related to the claim of financial elder abuse. Appellants further argue that respondent failed to state a cause of action for conversion, and that the trial court erred in submitting this theory to the jury. Lastly, it is claimed that the attorney fee award was excessive and should be reduced. We reject all of these contentions and affirm.
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