Alexander v. Marshall, No. 14-18-00424-CV, 2021 WL 970760 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Mar. 16, 2021, no pet. h.).
A trust has six trustees, one is a Texas resident and five are Louisiana residents. The primary trust beneficiary is a Texas resident and the trust property is located in Texas. The Louisiana trustees often traveled to Texas on trust business. The Louisiana trustees asserted that Texas courts lacked jurisdiction to hear the beneficiary’s claims that they breached their fiduciary duties.
Both the trial and appellate courts held that the Louisiana trustees had sufficient contacts with Texas so that Texas courts had specific personal jurisdiction over them even though the trust instrument indicated the trust was to be governed by the Louisiana Trust Code and the trustees were directed to apply to a specified Louisiana court for instructions on trust issues.
Moral: Trustees domiciled in other states may be subject to the personal jurisdiction of Texas courts if they have sufficient minimum contacts with Texas.