Narvaez v. Powell, 564 S.W.3d 49 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2018, no pet. h.).
Attorneys involved in a contentious estate administration were sued in District Court for breach of fiduciary duties and legal malpractice. For example, Attorneys allegedly prepared unconscionable fee agreements and received unconscionable fees as well as using threats and intimidation to force various parties into signing a contract to sell estate property and committing barratry. Attorneys asserted that the District Court lacked jurisdiction over these claims and instead they belonged in the statutory probate court which was handling the estate administration.
Both the trial and appellate courts agreed with Attorneys that the District Court lacked jurisdiction over these claims. The court explained that the statutory probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over all probate proceedings whether or not contested under Texas Estates Code § 32.005(a). The court examined each of the claims against Attorneys and determined that were all related to a probate proceeding and thus the statutory probate court has exclusive jurisdiction over them.
Moral: A statutory probate court will typically have exclusive, or at least pendent or ancillary jurisdiction, over all matters related to the administration of a decedent’s estate.
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