Clarke v. Clarke

Mrs. Clarke, a South Carolina resident, left Connecticut real property in equal shares to her husband and two daughters. One daughter, Julia, died shortly after her mother. Mr. Clarke (plaintiff), acting as executor and trustee, obtained a South Carolina ruling that the Connecticut land had been equitably converted to personal property and should be split under South Carolina law. He then asked a Connecticut court for instructions on distributing Julia's Connecticut share; Connecticut law gave Julia's whole share to her sister Nancy (defendant), a different result than South Carolina law would produce. Mr. Clarke sought Supreme Court review of which state's ruling controlled.