Dutill v. Dana
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine · 1952-12-08 · cited 2×
This case was a bill in equity brought by the next heir of Mary I. Brown after her son Norman P. Brown murdered her and then died by suicide, seeking to prevent Norman's estate (through his executor and will beneficiary Maine General Hospital) from retaining the inherited property. The court held that legal title to the estate passed to Norman under Maine's statutes of descent and distribution, but that he and those claiming through him held the property as constructive trustees for the benefit of the complainant. The reasoning relied on the common-law equitable principle that no one should profit from their own wrong, following the line of authority that imposes a constructive trust rather than allowing full retention of the property or reading an exception into the descent statutes.