On The Case! – Holographic Wills in NS? (Pt.2)

Part 2 of 4 – Must be a  Model D!

 We pick up from Pt.1 with a discussion of the Tractor on which Saskatchewan farmer Cecil Harris scratched his now famous Will:

“In case I die in this mess I leave all to the wife. Cecil Geo Harris”.

As it may give some insight into how Judges decide between several versions of events or competing evidence, I want to explain the rationale for my conclusion in Pt. 1 that the ‘Case’ that Cecil scratched his Will on was a Model ‘D’ manufactured  between 1941 - 1945.

This is contrary to the prevailing view and reports that it was an: “orange-coloured Model ‘C’ Case tractor. The tractor had no tires, just metal wheels with 4-inch V-shaped lugs”, according to Calgary lawyer Geoff Ellwand. [i]

Here’s what I found when looking for a Photo of a Model ‘C’ Case Tractor to use with this Post and how I came to the conclusion I did:

1. The Model “C” Case tractor was typically painted grey when manufactured.
2. In 1939, Case switch to orange (called ‘flambeau red’) and with a few other small changes, they became the Model ‘D’.
3. Model “D’ came with rubber tires, but metal ‘sand tires’ was still an option.
4. During the war years in the US (1941- 45), where the Case Tractors were produced, there was a shortage of rubber, so metal wheels were commonly used again.
5. The grey fenders on the Model ‘C’ did not have the three ridges near the center that we see in photos of the orange Harris Will fender.
6. The Model ‘D’ is the only Case Tractor to have the 3 ridge orange fender.
7. The eye witnesses recount that the tractor had shifted into reverse by accident and rolled back over Harris’ leg and cut him from his ankle to his thigh that cause him to bleed-out and not recover, was from “metal wheels with 4-inch V-shaped lugs”.
8. The photo’s of mounted fenders and the Will fender piece, confirms therefore that it was the left fender that Harris had written on (both by the location of the 3 off-center ridges and a view of the piece showing the rounded 'inner part' being on the right).

Given the foregoing,  can there be any doubt that the fender was the left fender off a Model ‘D' Case?  Therefore, either the eye witness description it was a Model ‘C’, although understandable (given it had metal wheels which were common on the 'C' but not 'D'), is either mistaken; or, Harris had taken newer Model ‘D’ fender(s) and added them (or it) to his old Model ‘C' tractor? 

The likelihood of that occurring is remote, especially on a Prairie farm where damaged or bent parts would be repaired, not replaced with new ones. Therefore, the conclusion I draw is ‘that it is more likely than not’, that it was a Model ‘D’ with metal wheels, not a Model ‘C’ Case tractor as previously reported and generally accepted.

The above picture is one taken in 2012 of a Manitoba Model ‘D’ Case with metal wheels. I submit that this is as close as it gets to what the tractor that killed Harris would have looked like.

My analysis is similar to how a Judge would go about deciding which competing ‘theory of the case’ best fits with the evidence and then makes a ruling accordingly.  What do you think makes more sense here?

Fortunately, nothing turns on this ‘fact’ as it has no bearing at all on the Will itself.  It could have been written on an egg shell and still have been proven as Mr. Harris' Will, all else being equal. 

Interestingly, it was because of an ‘eggshell’ case that Mr. Harris’ lawyer, George Stanley Elliott, took the steps he did to prove the Will.  According to Ellwand:

 "We know from a short case comment written for the Canadian Bar Review by Elliott’s law student son, William McBurney Elliott, who was working in his father’s office for the summer, that ‘the only similar case reported was Hodson v. Barnes’.  It was a 1926 English case involving a will written on an eggshell that had been rejected by the English Court of Probate."[ii]

 Apparently, in the Barnes Case[iii], the Court was not satisfied that the writing on the egg shell was intended to be the last Will and Testament of the deceased.  To over come this concern, Lawyer Elliott had the Doctor confirm that Harris' death the next day resulted directly from the accident.

He also made sure he had Affidavit evidence supporting the fact that Harris could reach the fender from were he was trapped and that the scratches were new; so too, that Harris' pocket knife was freshly dulled. Finally, that the 'writing' and 'signature' was Mr. Harris'.

A portion of the fender itself (see below) was tendered as an Exhibit to the Probate Court. Elliott was successful on behalf of Harris’ widow as the Court found the fender was indeed Cecil Harris' Last Will and Testament!  Bessie  received the total estate of $13,697.71,

As we will see in Part 3, intent and context is everything when determining if a document or hand written note is, in fact, a Will…

PS: It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words…

Exhibit “A” - Fenders on a Model ‘C’ Case Tractor

Exhibit “B” - Fenders on a Model ‘D’ Case Tractor

Exhibit “C” - The Fender from Cecil Harris’ Case Tractor (and his pocket knife)

Was it a Model 'C' or 'D' that killed Cecil Harris? -  you be the Judge!

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[i] https://law.usask.ca/news/LawyersWeeklyTractorWill10May13.pdf

 [ii] https://law.usask.ca/news/LawyersWeeklyTractorWill10May13.pdf

 [iii] Hodson v. Barnes, (1926) 43 TLR 71