Opinion
No. 125948.
July 29, 2005.
Leave to Appeal Denied.
SC: 125948, COA: 243492.
The cause having been briefed and orally argued, the order of December 27, 2004, 471 Mich 937, granting leave to appeal is vacated, and leave to appeal is denied because the Supreme Court is no longer persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed. The Court unanimously agrees that a purchaser of trust property may be considered a protected third party under MCL 700.7404.
MARKMAN, J. ( dissenting). I would reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and remand to the trial court for the entry of an order of specific performance of the purchase agreement. MCL 700.7404 provides that a third party is "fully protected" in dealing with a trustee when the third party lacks actual knowledge that the trustee has exceeded or improperly exercised a trust power. Here, the trustee exceeded her authority by entering into a purchase agreement with the defendant without first obtaining her cotrustee's approval. Because the statute mandates that defendant be "fully protected," specific performance is required in order to put defendant in the same position he would have been in had the trustee possessed the power she purported to exercise.