Court: Granny Zhang Returns Property to the Legal Heir and Compensate for
the Loss Incurred
[Case Review]
Grandpa Zhang fell ill and passed away after medical
treatment failed. In addition to grief, his wife Granny Wu was surprised to
find that from Grandpa Zhang's hospitalization to his death, there have been
transactions in his stock account as usual. Moreover, a stock held in a large
position by the account hit limit down for consecutive days, causing a large
loss. However, Grandpa Zhang's parents passed away years ago, and he had no
children during his lifetime. Who was operating this stock account?
After investigation, Granny Wu found that it was Grandpa
Zhang's elder sister Granny Zhang who was buying and selling stocks. After the
negotiation between the two parties failed, Granny Wu filed a suit with the
Pudong New Area People's Court of Shanghai (hereinafter referred to as the "Shanghai
Pudong Court") and demanded Granny Zhang to return the account property
and compensate for the corresponding losses. The Shanghai Pudong Court ruled in
the first instance that Granny Zhang should return Granny Wu over 37,000 yuan and
the corresponding interest, and pay over 17,000 yuan for economic losses.
During the trial, Granny Wu alleged that she and Grandpa
Zhang registered their marriage in 2001. Later, Grandpa Zhang suffered from
rectal cancer and his condition continued to worsen after the operation. He
passed away on June 7, 2018 without leaving any will. Grandpa Zhang had no
children during his lifetime, and his parents died in 2008 and 2014
respectively.
However, it was strange that from May 9 to June 12, 2018,
during the period of Grandpa Zhang's serious illness and even after his death, the
securities account of Grandpa Zhang had multiple stock sales records. The
proceeds of 47,500 yuan from the sale were all transferred to a bound
commercial bank account and were withdrawn afterwards. On May 8, one day ago,
Grandpa Zhang was already critically ill. Obviously, the person operating these
stock transactions was not Grandpa Zhang, but someone else.
What
made Granny Wu even more confused was that on June 28, all the remaining stocks
in the securities account were sold, and then 2,500 shares of a certain stock
were bought at a price of 18.27 yuan per share. But in fact, the stock has been
hitting limit down for many days since June 22, and this state lasted until
July 2. In other words, the person operating the account knew that this was a worst-performing
stock and still chose to buy it in a large amount. What was the purpose of the
person?
To
stop loss in time, Granny Wu went to the business department of the securities
company and sold all 2,500 shares in Grandpa Zhang's account at a price of
11.12 yuan per share. After deducting commissions and other expenses, the total
loss was more than 17,000 yuan.
After
investigation, Granny Wu learned that it was Grandpa Zhang's elder sister
Granny Zhang who controlled and operated the securities account. Granny Wu urged
Granny Zhang to return the relevant money, but the negotiation between the two
parties failed. Then Granny Wu filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding Granny
Zhang to return the property and interest and compensate for the corresponding
losses.
During
the trial, Granny Zhang claimed that she had no objection to the relevant facts
stated by Granny Wu and that her brother's stock account was indeed operated by
her. However, the initial funds of the account did not come from Grandpa Zhang,
but from her mother, and she also deposited 10,100 yuan in the account on April
20, 2018. Their parents had 6 children, and now her mother, father and younger
brother all passed away. Even if the funds in the account are withdrawn, they
should not belong to Granny Wu, but should be handled by the other five siblings
according to the Law of Succession.
After
trial, the Shanghai Pudong Court found that: Granny Zhang asserted that her
mother's money was deposited into Grandpa Zhang's stock account and a linked
bank account, and she operated the account to trade stocks, so the
above-mentioned property should not belong to Grandpa Zhang. The plaintiff
Granny Wu was unaware of the above-mentioned account information, and no
relevant account credentials were found at her home. While Granny Zhang kept
the past transaction vouchers, actually had the transaction account number and
transaction password, and provided part of the ledger recorded by her during
the court hearing, which basically tallied with the transaction situation of Grandpa
Zhang's stock account. Therefore, it can be judged that the above account was
usually controlled and operated by Granny Zhang.
However,
controlling and operating this account was not sufficient to prove that the
above-mentioned property does belong to her. Granny Zhang also claimed that the
initial funds of the account came from her mother. However, the existing
evidence was insufficient to prove that the funds in the account were directly
transferred by her mother. Grandpa Zhang himself never confirmed this fact in
writing, and the account was not mentioned in the will left by their mother. In
previous cases of inheritance disputes, the siblings never mentioned that part
of the property was their mother's inheritance, so the existing evidence alone
was not enough to support her claim.
In
summary, the money in Grandpa Zhang's bank account should be presumed to belong
to him. The request of the plaintiff Granny Wu, who was his legal heir,
demanding Granny Zhang to return 47,500 yuan withdrawn from the bank account
from May 10, 2018 should be supported. But the 10,100 yuan that Granny Zhang had
actually deposited must be deducted, and the corresponding interest should be
paid according to the bank deposit rate.
Grandpa
Zhang had never raised any objection to Granny Zhang's long-term use of his
account for stock trading, showing that he had indeed commissioned Granny Zhang
for that purpose. After the death of Grandpa Zhang, Granny Zhang, due to a
conflict with Granny Wu, sold the stocks in his account and bought stocks with
minimal trading volume and had hit limit down for many days, deliberately
causing a loss in the account. The plaintiff has the right to demand
compensation from her.
Therefore,
the court made the above-mentioned judgment according to law.
[Relevant Laws]
1.
Tort Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 2 Those who infringe upon civil rights and
interests shall be subject to the tort liability according to this Law.
"Civil rights and interests" used in this Law
shall include the right to life, the right to health, the right to name, the
right to reputation, the right to honor, right to self image, right of privacy,
marital autonomy, guardianship, ownership, usufruct, security interest,
copyright, patent right, exclusive right to use a trademark, right to
discovery, equities, right of succession, and other personal and property
rights and interests.
Article 15 The methods of assuming tort liabilities shall
include:
1. cessation of infringement;
2. removal of obstruction;
3. elimination of danger;
4. return of property;
5. restoration to the original status;
6. compensation for losses;
7. apology; and
8. elimination of consequences and restoration of
reputation.
The above methods of assuming the tort liability may be
adopted individually or jointly.
Article 19 Where a tort causes any harm to the property
of another person, the amount of loss to the property shall be calculated as
per the market price at the time of occurrence of the loss or calculated
otherwise.
2.
Contract Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 406 Under a commission contract for value, if the
principal sustains any loss due to the fault of the agent, the principal may
claim damages. Under a gratuitous agency appointment contract, if the principal
sustains any loss due to the agent's intentional misconduct or gross negligence,
the principal may claim damages.
(Writer:
Chen Weifeng of Shanghai Pudong Court)