Ray Malooly Trust v. Juhl, 186 S.W.3d 568 (2006).

 Trusts

 Suit Against Trust

 

Plaintiff sued Trust. Three years later on the day the trial began, Trust filed an answer stating that a trust is not a legal entity and thus did not have the capacity to be sued. The Supreme Court of Texas recognized that “suits against a trust must be brought against its legal representative, the trustee.” The court explained that a trust is a legal relationship, not a legal entity. Although the appellate court incorrectly concluded that a trust can be sued directly, the result was nonetheless correct because Trust waived any objection to capacity by filing its pleading too late under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. “By failing to raise a timely objection to capacity, [Trustee] waived any objection that judgment had to be rendered against the Trust, rather than himself as trustee.”

Moral: A person whose lawsuit involves a trust should bring suit against the trustee in the trustee’s representative capacity.



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