Rice v. Rice, 533 S.W.3d 58 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2017, no pet.).
The court, following the Texas Supreme Court’s
opinion in Kinsel v Lindsey, 526 S.W.3d 411 (Tex. 2017), refused
to recognize a cause of action for tortious interference with
inheritance rights. The court noted that it had previously recognized
the tort but realized under principles of vertical stare decisis, it is
bound by the Texas Supreme Court decision.
The court explained that the viability of this
cause of action was left open by the Texas Supreme Court. After studying
the facts of this case, the court pointed out that the parties seeking
relief for tortious interference had briefed none of the factors which a
court must consider in determining whether to recognize a new cause of
action. Accordingly, the court refused to recognize the tort. The court
also noted out that the parties already had an adequate remedy as the
will was declared invalid for lack of testamentary capacity and undue
influence. It appeared that the reason the parties wanted the tort
recognized was so that they could seek exemplary damages.
Moral: Whether Texas recognizes a cause of
action for tortious interference with inheritance rights remains an open
question.