## Facts

- A testamentary trust provided income to Joseph Pierce for life, but terminated upon his death or remarriage; on termination, principal was to be distributed 40% to Margaret Ann Soden, 30% to the children of Ralph Henry Walters, Jr. (together, the “Soden group”), and 30% to Nancy Pierce.
- Josephine Clary died in 1980; Joseph began receiving trust income, and First Union later became successor trustee.
- Joseph remarried in 1984 but concealed the marriage; the trustee did not learn of it until 1992, after the Soden group obtained a marriage certificate and notified the trustee.
- Despite the remarriage, Joseph continued receiving trust payments after 1984 because the trustee lacked notice.
- Evidence supported that Nancy knew or should have known about Joseph’s remarriage but did not inform the trustee.
- First Union filed an equity action to determine rights and liabilities; a master-in-equity ruled (among other things) that Joseph owed reimbursement for post-1984 payments (about $88,669), reduced Nancy’s remainder share to 30% of the trust value as of 1984 for unclean hands, required First Union to pay the Soden group $88,669, dismissed the Soden group’s civil conspiracy claim against Nancy, and denied certain attorney’s fee requests.

## Issues

1. Whether Joseph’s 1984 remarriage terminated his income interest and required repayment of amounts received thereafter.
2. Whether equity permitted limiting Nancy’s remainder distribution to 30% of the trust’s 1984 value under the unclean-hands doctrine due to her failure to disclose the remarriage.
3. Whether the evidence supported a civil conspiracy claim against Nancy based on alleged concealment of the remarriage.
4. Whether attorney’s fees were recoverable for pro se representation, and whether fees could be shifted under a common-fund theory.

## Decision

- The court held that Joseph’s 1984 remarriage terminated his right to receive income and that he was liable to reimburse amounts paid after remarriage.
- The court affirmed the equitable reduction of Nancy’s remainder distribution to the value of her 30% interest as of 1984 based on unclean hands.
- The court affirmed dismissal of the civil conspiracy claim against Nancy for insufficient proof of an agreement and actionable conspiracy elements.
- The court affirmed denial of attorney’s fees for Nancy’s self-representation and affirmed denial of the Soden group’s attempt to shift fees to Nancy under a common-fund theory.
- The court largely affirmed the master’s overall remedial structure holding the trustee accountable to the Soden group while preserving recourse against Joseph.

## Legal Principles

- Trust terms terminating a life-income interest on remarriage are enforceable; payments made after termination are improper and may be recovered from the recipient.
- A beneficiary seeking equitable relief may be denied or limited in relief under unclean hands when the beneficiary’s inequitable conduct relates to the matter in dispute and contributes to the complained-of harm.
- Trustees may be required to restore beneficiaries to their proper position when improper distributions occur, even if the trustee acted under a mistake of fact, with potential reimbursement rights against the improper recipient.
- Civil conspiracy requires proof of an agreement, overt acts in furtherance, and resulting damages; inequitable conduct alone does not establish conspiracy.
- Attorney’s fees generally are not awarded for pro se representation; common-fund fee shifting is discretionary and requires satisfaction of the doctrine’s requirements.

## Conclusion

The court enforced the trust’s remarriage-termination condition, ordered repayment of post-termination distributions, held the trustee accountable to make affected remaindermen whole, and used unclean hands to prevent a beneficiary who withheld material information from benefiting from trust growth, while rejecting conspiracy and attorney’s fee claims unsupported by law or proof.


First Union Nat’l Bank of S.C. v. Soden, 511 S.E.2d 372 (S.C. Ct. App. 1998)