In re Cousins, 551 S.W.3d 913 (Tex. App.—Tyler 2018, orig. proceeding [mand. pending]).
Beneficiary (also a co-trustee) sued Trustee for
breach of fiduciary duties. Beneficiary requested that the court order
payment of his legal fees and litigation expenses from the trusts under
Property Code § 114.063. The court denied the request. Beneficiary then
brought a mandamus action against the judge.
The appellate court denied mandamus relief. The
court explained that mandamus is an “extraordinary remedy” and is not
warranted in this case. Mandamus is neither “essential to preserve
important substantive and procedural rights from impairment or loss” nor
it is needed to give direction on how Property Code § 114.063 operates
that would “otherwise prove elusive in an appeal from a final judgment.”
Accordingly, the court concluded that “an ordinary appeal of the order
denying [Beneficiary’s] motion for court ordered litigation expenses
from the Trust estates serves as a plain, adequate, and complete
remedy.”
Moral: Without clear facts showing the
mandamus relief is vital, the court is unlikely to grant the writ.