Methodist Mission Home of Texas v. N__ A__ B__
Court of Civil Appeals of Texas
451 S.W.2d 539 (1970)
N__ A__ B__ (NAB) (plaintiff) stayed at Methodist Mission Home of Texas (defendant), which counsels unwed expectant mothers and generally steers residents toward adoption. Methodist Mission expected NAB to give up her baby and never presented her with alternatives during her pregnancy. After the baby was born, NAB told Methodist Mission she intended to keep him. Over five exhausting days, her counselor Jo Ann Burns subjected NAB — physically and emotionally worn down — to sustained pressure: listing only negatives about keeping the baby, calling her selfish and wrong for wanting to, and convincing her that her parents' offer of support was insincere. After days of this, NAB agreed to give up her son, then sued to revoke that decision as the product of undue influence; a jury agreed with her.
Whether an act is procured by undue influence when one party, operating from a position of influence and dominance over another who is in a physically and emotionally weak state, induces the latter to make a decision so contrary to her genuine desire that she would not have so decided but for the influence of the dominant party.