Stern v. Marshall, 471 S.W.3d 498 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2015, no pet.).
Note: This case is another in the series of Anna Nicole Smith decisions. This case provides an excellent summary of all the litigation regarding J. Howard Marshall’s estate.
The appellate court held that a claim for tortious
interference with inheritance rights is not a compulsory counterclaim to
a petition for the probate of the testator’s will. A tortious
interference claim is not against the testator’s estate. If the claim is
successful, no estate funds would be used to pay the judgment. Instead,
the judgment would be against the person who tortiously interfered.
Moral: A claim for tortious interference
with inheritance rights is not a compulsory counterclaim to the probate
of the “interfering” will.