Alison E. Glassie v. Paul Doucette, in his capacity as of the Estate of Donelson C. Glassie, Jr.

Citations

• 157 A.3d 1092
• 2017 WL 1408017
• 2017 R.I. LEXIS 47

Syllabus

The plaintiff, Alison E. Glassie, Executrix of the Estate of Jacquelin Caffrey Glassie, (plaintiff), appeals from a grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant, Paul Doucette, in his capacity as Executor of the Estate of Donelson C. Glassie, Jr. (defendant), on the plaintiff's breach of contract claim. Summary judgment was granted on the basis that the plaintiff was without standing, as the trustee was the proper party to institute an action on behalf of trust beneficiaries. On appeal, the plaintiff averred that her standing was derived from her third-party beneficiary status under her parents' property settlement agreement, which directed that a trust be created and funded for Jacquelin Glassie's benefit. The Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court judgment, holding that the law of trusts applied and that the trustee was the proper party to institute the action. The Court explained that Jacquelin had received all that was due to her as a third-party beneficiary under the property settlement agreement, and that she benefited from the trust only because she was a trust beneficiary.