Wilson v. Thornton

NEWMAN, Chief Judge:

Appellants, the decedent’s heirs-at-law, contested his purported will on the basis that he lacked testamentary capacity at the time of the will’s execution.1 The trial court, relying on the physician-patient privilege, D.C. Code 1973, § 14-307(a), excluded medical evidence and testimony proffered by appellants, and directed a verdict for the appellees. The issue before us on appeal is whether the trial court erred in excluding the proffered evidence and testimony; more specifically, we must decide in the case of a will contest, who is to be considered the decedent’s “legal…