Ritualistic Repetition or Genuine Intent? Inside a Stunning Undue Influence Case w/ David Delagran & Justice Gilmore

Most people imagine undue influence as overt manipulation: a domineering child, a vulnerable parent, and a will that suddenly changes. But the reality, undue influence often looks like routine caregiving. 

That’s what made Abbruzzese v Tucci so striking. At first glance, it looked like a typical estate dispute. Instead, what emerged was a rare, almost textbook convergence of every factor litigators usually struggle to prove: isolation, dependency, capacity concerns, and a sudden transfer of the family home for no consideration.

Then, everything changed when a single piece of evidence emerged; something you rarely see in these files.

Civil litigator David Delagran walked me through the moment the entire case took a sharp turn. A moment that revealed just how different this file was from the usual “she said / she said” estate dispute. What he uncovered suggested something more deliberate, more structured, and far more difficult to dismiss.

Then I sat with Justice Gilmore, the judge who ultimately had to make sense of it all. From her vantage point, this case wasn’t just unusual; it presented a combination of factors she rarely sees align so neatly in one file. 

It all pointed to something beneath the surface that only became visible once she started asking the right questions. 

Why do some cases that look “clean” on paper unravel the moment you peel back a single layer? What happens when the usual tools for assessing capacity and intent collide with the messy realities of family relationships?

In this episode, we explore all of it, from the litigation strategy to the judicial reasoning. We also talk about the deeper lessons this case offers for anyone navigating influence, vulnerability, and the fragile line between care and control.

You’ll Also Learn;

• How dependence, isolation, and family conflict quietly lay the groundwork for influence
• Why repeated phrases and “too-consistent” explanations can be a red flag in capacity cases
• How a drafting solicitor’s clean notes can mask deeper dynamics the lawyer never saw
• Why contemporaneous medical assessments often reveal what retrospective reports can’t
• How judges test whether a testator’s words were their own or shaped by someone else
• What credibility looks like when family stories, expert opinions, and documents all clash
• Why this case is becoming a reference point for spotting influence that hides in plain sight

Guest Bios

David Delagran is a civil litigator and partner at Beard Winter LLP in Toronto, with over 25 years of litigation experience across commercial, estates, and employment disputes. In contentious trusts and estates disputes, David represents personal and institutional estate trustees, as well as beneficiaries, in all matters arising out of the administration of trusts and estates, including administration, will challenges, dependent support claims, interpretation issues, and breaches of trust. David works together with the firm’s Estates and Trusts solicitors to form an effective multidisciplinary litigation team. Connect with David on LinkedIn. 

Justice Gilmore is an Estates List judge and a specialist in estates litigation. She sits in Toronto and has presided over a large variety of civil, criminal, and family cases since her appointment. She was the President of the Ontario Superior Court Judges’ Association from December 2014 to June 2017 and sitting Past President until June 2019. Justice Gilmore has passed the Level C civil servant French exam, which permits her to hear trials in French, and has been a regular educational panel member on evidentiary and advocacy issues. Connect with her on LinkedIn. 

About Your Host

Areta Lloyd practices estate and trusts litigation, with a particular focus on capacity litigation. She participates in public speaking, mentoring junior lawyers, and presenting courses on the topics of estates law, health law, and law practice management. Areta has written for several publications and wrote a column for the Alzheimer caregiver website ALZlive.com.