Plymouth County Wildlands Trust v. Smith

The dispute in this case concerns the residuary clause of the last will and testament of Richard J. Cotter, Jr., a Massachusetts resident who died on March 9, 1999. The plaintiff, Plymouth County Wildlands Trust (Wildlands Trust), one of four cobeneficiaries of the residue, and one defendant, Donald O. Smith, the executor, appeal from a judgment of the Probate and Family Court dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint for declaratory judgment for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

The facts are briefly as follows. Cotter left the residue of his estate to four organizations: the Thornton W.…