Union Bank of California v. Braille Institute of America, Inc.

The Braille Institute of America, Inc., American Heart Association, Cancer Research Fund of the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Foundation, Hi-Desert Memorial Hospital, and Salvation Army, beneficiaries under a testamentary trust, have appealed from two adverse orders issued in favor of Union Bank of California (Union Bank), the trustee under a testamentary trust created by a will. After mediation, the beneficiaries and the trustee entered into a settlement agreement which also encompassed the two pending appeals and a separate petition concerning trustee fees. As part of this comprehensive settlement, the beneficiaries and the trustee have agreed that the orders underlying the two pending appeals are to be reversed. This raises the question of whether we can accept the stipulated reversal under the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure section 128, subdivision (a)(8). We conclude we can accept the stipulated reversal consistent with our obligations under section 128, subdivision (a)(8).

The testamentary trust at issue was created by the last will and testament of Elsinore Machris Gilliland dated July 5, 1962, and established by an order of the superior court entered…