221674P.pdf   06/23/2023  Lisa Crain  v.  Shirley Crain
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  22-1674
                          and No:  22-2693
   U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Ft. Smith   
   [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Gruender and Benton, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case. In a property settlement agreement as part of his divorce from 
   plaintiffs' mother, the plaintiffs' father agreed to maintain a will that 
   would leave one-half of his estate to the plaintiffs; however, when the 
   father died no such will was found, and defendant, his then wife, took 
   sole possession of the father's separate property; plaintiffs filed this 
   diversity action, alleging they were third-party beneficiaries of the 
   settlement agreement and seeking specific performance of the agreement and 
   imposition of a constructive trust; the district court granted plaintiffs 
   summary judgment, ruling their father had breached the property settlement 
   agreement incorporated into the divorce decree; the court set a trial on 
   the question of identifying the assets the father owned and controlled at 
   his death; the court imposed a constructive trust on $100 million worth of 
   property, and defendant appeals. Held, the district court had subject 
   matter jurisdiction, and plaintiffs had standing to maintain the action; 
   the deceased father breached the property settlement agreement when he did 
   not leave half of his estate to plaintiffs, and the district court did not 
   err in fashioning equitable relief. Judge Shepherd, concurring.