The Texas Legislature created a statute to protect parties’ rights to freedom of speech and to petition the courts: the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (TCPA). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.001-.011....more
11/13/2023
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Beneficiaries ,
Burden of Proof ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Free Speech ,
Injunctive Relief ,
No Contest Clause ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Safe Harbors ,
State Courts ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Trusts
In In re Mittelsted, a trial court held a former executor in contempt for over twenty acts of commingling personal property with estate property and ordered that the executor pay over $200,000 to avoid contempt. No....more
In In the Estate of Mahaffey, a testatrix executed a new will nine days before she died of cancer. No. 04-19-00122-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 11171 (Tex. App.—San Antonio December 27, 2019, no pet. history)....more
2/13/2020
/ Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Burden of Proof ,
Diminished Capacity ,
Estate Planning ,
Probate ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Will Contest ,
Wills
I. Introduction Historically, Texas courts could not resort to extrinsic evidence to construe an unambiguous will. San Antonio Area Foundation v. Lang, 35 S.W.3d 636 (Tex. 2000)....more
6/7/2019
/ Beneficiaries ,
Burden of Proof ,
Clerical Errors ,
Community Property ,
Estate Planning ,
Evidence ,
Extrinsic Evidence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Four-Corners Rule ,
Intent ,
Modification ,
Personal Representatives ,
Plain Meaning ,
Reformation ,
Testators ,
Trustees ,
Wills
In In re Estate of Kam, Kam sought to set aside an order probating her brother’s will via a statutory bill of review because he purportedly lacked the requisite testamentary capacity to execute the will or the will was the...more
In Neurodiagnostic Tex, L.L.C. v. Pierce, the court reviewed a summary judgment entered regarding an employer’s breach of fiduciary duty claim. No. 12-14-00254-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 11754 (Tex. App.—Tyler October 31, 2016,...more
In In the Estate of Burrell, a trial court admitted a copy of will to probate, and a contestant appealed. No. 09-14-00345-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 10421 (Tex. App.—Beaumont September 22, 2016, no pet. history). This case was...more
In Tex v. Iom, a former employer sued a former employee based on a covenant not to compete and breach of fiduciary duty and sued the new employer for tortious interference. No. 12-14-00254-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 7317 (Tex....more
7/20/2016
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Burden of Proof ,
Evidence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Former Employee ,
Former Employer ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tortious Interference
A court of appeals recently held that an indemnity agreement between an operator and a contractor placed the burden on the contractor to indemnify the operator for the operator's third-party indemnity obligations that arose...more
In Campbell v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., the Campbells borrowed money from a lender to purchase a residence. No. 03-11-00428-CV, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 4030 (Tex. App.—Austin May 18, 2012, no pet....more