Pennsylvania Appeals Court Upholds $245,568 Dual Judgments in Whitehall Family Property Feud

The Pennsylvania Superior Court slammed the door on a multi-year family property dispute on November 5, 2026, upholding $245,568.86 in dual court awards that divide the spoils and debts of an estate battle between a mother and daughter.

Both women walked away with judgments against each other. Under the affirmed rulings, Carole Caples secured $168,107 against her daughter, Katherine Purcell, following jury findings that Purcell breached her fiduciary duty over the $262,519.75 sale of a residential home. At the same time, the appellate bench left intact a $77,461.86 counter-judgment against Caples for defaulting on a promissory note tied to her senior care facility fees.

The ruling ended a vicious six-day courtroom struggle over parental trust and financial overreach.

The Whitehall Home and the Broken Estate Plan

Caples purchased the South Fifth Street property in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, in February 2010, seeking to downsize from her Maryland residence and live closer to family. She added Purcell to the deed as a joint tenant with right of survivorship. But the arrangement carried a specific, singular purpose: estate convenience.

Caples intended the deed structure to allow her heirs to liquidate the home without probate delay, ensuring net proceeds would divide equally among her three daughters upon her death. She repaid Purcell's initial down payment contribution from Maryland house proceeds, shouldered every utility bill, and covered maintenance costs alone. Purcell never lived at the Whitehall address. She never paid for repairs.

The dynamic cracked in 2018. Following hip surgery and an extended hospital admission, Caples chose to enter Fellowship Community, a continuing-care retirement facility requiring an entry fee of roughly $203,000.

The Promissory Note and Diverted Sale Proceeds

To bridge the shortfall, Purcell executed a loan agreement with her mother. Under a formal promissory note signed on July 1, 2018, Purcell lent Caples $192,850, structuring repayment at $975.60 per month across a 20-year term.

But the situation deteriorated when Caples sold the Whitehall property on October 18, 2018. Net settlement proceeds yielded $262,519.75. Because Purcell remained on the deed, closing agents split the payout down the middle, cutting separate checks of $131,259.88 to both mother and daughter.

Caples never intended her daughter to pocket an outright windfall. She assumed the capital would remain accessible for her long-term care and eventual estate division.

Purcell applied immediate financial pressure. She demanded Caples surrender $100,000 from her settlement share to pay down the retirement loan, along with an extra $30,850 placed into a joint account for future instalments. Then, in January 2019, Purcell moved $28,528.39 out of that shared account directly into a personal account she held with her husband.

Suspicions exploded across the family. Caples’ other two daughters, Kimberly D’Alessandro and Christine Cullen, pressed Purcell repeatedly for an accounting of their mother's money and outstanding liabilities. Purcell stonewalled them. In February 2019, Caples formally stripped Purcell of power of attorney, handing financial management to D’Alessandro and Cullen before filing suit.

Six-Day Trial and Confirmed Judgments

Consolidated lawsuits pitted mother and daughter against each other, trading claims of breach of contract, fiduciary violation, and fund mismanagement. Over six trial days, jurors weighed evidence of Caples’ advancing memory loss, confusion, and complete physical dependence on Purcell during 2018. That clinical vulnerability proved decisive in establishing a legal confidential relationship between them.

Jurors ultimately assessed blame against both parties. They found Purcell breached her fiduciary duty regarding the Whitehall house sale proceeds, awarding Caples $131,291.54. Concurrently, the jury ruled Caples breached the valid July 2018 promissory note, granting Purcell $61,973.06. After pre-judgment calculations and interest adjustments, the trial court entered final orders of $168,107 in favor of Caples and $77,461.86 in favor of Purcell.

With the Superior Court formally rejecting both cross-appeals, the judgment becomes final, clearing the way for enforcement proceedings in the Lehigh County court system.