Miller v. Estate of Self, 113 S.W.3d 554 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2003, no pet.).
Plaintiff named the “estate of Decedent” as the defendant in a
lawsuit. The petition was served on Administrator of Decedent’s estate.
After a verdict against Decedent was rendered in the case, Administrator
moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and the trial court granted
the motion. Plaintiff appealed.
The appellate court affirmed. The court began its analysis with the
basic, albeit often overlooked, rule that the estate of a decedent is
not a legal entity which may sue or be sued. Plaintiff argued that the
estate had waived the issue. The court, however, reasoned that since
there was no legal entity named in the suit, there was no one who could
waive any defect therein.
Plaintiff next argued that the dismissal was improper because
Administrator participated in the lawsuit. The court recognized that if
a personal representative is served and participates in the suit in a
representative capacity, that the resulting judgment is valid even
though it names the estate. However, the court found that although
Administrator was served, he did not actually participate in the lawsuit
as Plaintiff alleged. Plaintiff did not attend the trial and no
documents were filed either by him or on his behalf in the case.
Moral: Litigants must remember that an estate is not a legal entity and
to name the personal representative of the decedent as the party.