Smith v. Trinity United Methodist Church of Springfield

Opinion

In this appeal,1 the plaintiffs, Jane Long Smith, Brett Cleaver and Jennifer Long Cleaver, the executrix of the estate of Evelyn Pay Long (decedent), appeal from the judgment of the trial court, in favor of the defendant, Trinity United Methodist Church of Springfield, Massachusetts, on the plaintiffs’ claim regarding the construction of a certain deed from the decedent to the defendant. The plaintiffs claim that the trial court improperly: (1) determined that the language of the deed was ambiguous so as to permit the court to rely on extraneous evidence to ascertain the decedent’s…