Stauffacher v. Coadum Capital Fund 1, LLC, 344 S.W.3d 584 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist. 2011, pet. denied).
In a case involving alleged breaches of a joint-venture agreement,
the defendant argued that he was not personally liable because he signed
“as trustee” and thus would not incur personal liability under Trust
Code § 114.084. For two reasons, the appellate court concluded that this
action did not relieve the defendant of liability. First, merely signing
an agreement “as trustee” and using the term “trustee” in the agreement
does not create a trust. The parties intended to create a joint-venture,
not a trust. Trust Code § 112.001. “A court has no authority to impose a
trust unless the prerequisites of a trust are satisfied.” Stauffacher at
588. Second, even if a trust were involved, the exclusion of personal
liability triggered by a signature “as trustee” applies not to the
trustee’s liability to the parties to the trust (settlor and
beneficiary) but rather to the trustee’s liability to third parties who
are contracting with the trustee.
Moral: A court will not hold that a trust was created unless the parties
actually manifested trust intent.