In re Guardianship of Gibbs, 253 S.W.3d 866 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2008, pet. dism'd).
A potential remainder beneficiary brought suit in a statutory probate
court on behalf of his mother for restitution and breach of fiduciary
duty against other beneficiaries. After the court awarded over $1
million in damages, a procedural dispute arose over whether the
statutory probate court had jurisdiction to hear the case. The appellate
court found that these actions did not fall within the scope of the
court’s jurisdiction and thus reversed the trial court’s judgment. The
court explained that the claims do not involve or concern a trust but
rather the alleged tortuous conduct of other beneficiaries.
Note: The current version of Probate Code § 5(e) which provides that the
statutory probate court has concurrent jurisdiction with the district
court “in all actions by or against a trustee” was not applicable to
this case because this case was filed many years before the effective
date of the relevant amendment (September 1, 2005).
Moral: A plaintiff must make certain that the court in which an action
is brought has jurisdiction to hear the case.