In re Cousins
In re Cousins
Opinion of the Court
Lynn D. Cousins, Jr., Relator, filed this original proceeding to challenge the denial of his second amended motion for court-ordered payment of legal fees and litigation expenses.
*916BACKGROUND
Cousins, acting individually as a residual beneficiary and as co-trustee of the Turn Administrative Trust, the Betty L. Turn Family Trust, the J.R. & B.L. Turn Living Trust, and the James R. Turn Marital Trust sued James R. Turn, individually and as co-trustee of the four Trusts for breach of fiduciary duties. The Marital Trust consists of a main account trust and a sub account trust. Cousins is Betty's son and James's step-son. According to the petition, James and Cousins are co-trustees of each Trust with the exception of the Marital Trust's main account. Among his claims for relief, Cousins sought an order requiring James to submit to a mental examination, moved for a show of authority, sought payment of his interim legal fees and litigation expenses from the trusts, compensation as co-trustee, statutory accountings, removal of James as trustee or co-trustee for the Trusts, removal of any successor trustees appointed by James, imposition of a constructive trust, a declaratory judgment, damages for breach and tortious interference with inheritance rights, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees. In an affidavit, Cousins alleged that James failed to inform him that he was a co-trustee of any of the Trusts, refused to give Cousins information regarding the Trusts or access to trust funds, and refused to prepare statutory trust accountings. James filed a counterclaim alleging breach of fiduciary duties and seeking a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief.
On January 24, 2018, Cousins filed his second amended motion for court ordered payment of his legal fees and litigation expenses from the Trust estates, based on Section 114.063 of the Texas Trust Code. At a hearing on the motion, Cousins' counsel argued that the Texas Trust Code and the trust agreement authorized reimbursement for attorney's fees. Counsel stated, "We're not asking you to award us attorney fees we're asking for access to the trust to pay our ongoing legal expenses." Counsel informed Respondent that incurred fees totaled just over $650,000 and that "[i]t's not our burden today when seeking interim attorney's fees to do any proof to show what's reasonable and necessary at this stage in the game." Respondent denied Cousins' motion on April 10. This original proceeding followed.
PREREQUISITES TO MANDAMUS
Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy. In re Sw. Bell Tel. Co., L.P. ,
ADEQUATE REMEDY
In this proceeding, Cousins contends that an "incorrect ruling on a trustee's access to trust funds to pay ongoing attorney's fees during the administration of, and litigation involving, the trust is a significant ruling that [ ] requires mandamus review." He maintains that, by pursuing the underlying litigation, he is fulfilling his duty as co-trustee to investigate James's actions and Respondent previously found his lawsuit to be well-founded, having "granted a partial summary judgment for Cousins, concluding that [James] Turn breached his fiduciary duty by [failing] to *917fund one of the trusts named in the trust instrument."
Applicable Law
In certain circumstances, incidental trial court rulings can be corrected by writ of mandamus. In re Entergy Corp ,
"Mandamus review of incidental, interlocutory rulings by the trial courts unduly interferes with trial court proceedings, distracts appellate court attention to issues that are unimportant both to the ultimate disposition of the case at hand and to the uniform development of the law, and adds unproductively to the expense and delay of civil litigation." Id ."As a selective procedure, mandamus can correct clear errors in exceptional cases and afford appropriate guidance to the law without the disruption and burden of interlocutory appeal." Id . at 138. We must be mindful that the benefits of mandamus review are easily lost by overuse. Id . An appellate court will exercise jurisdiction not merely because inaction would cause hardship to the parties, but because special, unique circumstances mandate the appellate court's intervention. See In re Entergy Corp ,
Analysis
Cousins relies on Section 114.063 of the Texas Trust Code to support his contention that mandamus review is proper in this case, arguing that Respondent's order denies him "this statutory right to ongoing reimbursement." Section 114.063 provides, in pertinent part, that a trustee may discharge or reimburse himself from trust principal or income or partly from both for expenses incurred while administering or protecting the trust or because of the trustee's holding or owning any of the trust property. TEX. PROP. CODE ANN. § 114.063(a)(2) (West 2014). The trustee has a lien against trust property to secure reimbursement. Id . § 114.063(b). In any proceeding under the Texas Trust Code, "the court may make such award of costs *918and reasonable and necessary attorney's fees as may seem equitable and just." Id . § 114.064(a) (West 2014).
According to Cousins, "[a]n incorrect ruling on a trustee's access to trust funds to pay ongoing attorney's fees during the administration of, and litigation involving, the trust is a significant ruling that [ ] requires mandamus review." He argues that Section 114.063 applies to reimbursement during the lawsuit and that Section 114.064, but not Section 114.063, applies at the end of the litigation. Consequently, he contends that an appeal after final judgment is inadequate to remedy the denial of his claim for attorney's fees during pendency of the litigation. He further maintains that absent mandamus review, Section 114.063 's application evades appellate review and he will be forced to pursue litigation with his personal funds, which is "particularly egregious here when the trial court has already found a breach of fiduciary duty and thus validated some of Cousins's claims." Cousins also argues that mandamus review affords this Court the opportunity to "give guidance to the trial court and to address an important issue in trust administration." For three reasons, we disagree that appellate review is an inadequate remedy under the circumstances of this case.
First, as the Texas Supreme Court has explained, "[m]andamus review of significant rulings in exceptional cases may be essential to preserve important substantive and procedural rights from impairment or loss[.]" In re Prudential Inc. Co. of Am. ,
According to Cousins, "[p]roceeding forward with the litigation without mandamus relief jeopardizes Cousins's ability to diligently pursue his breach-of-fiduciary-duty lawsuit against [James], as Cousins is obligated by statute to do." However, the denial of Cousins' motion does not deprive him of a reasonable opportunity to develop the merits of his case, such that the proceedings would be a waste of judicial resources. An example of one such case arises "when a trial court imposes discovery sanctions which have the effect of precluding a decision on the merits of a party's claims -such as by striking pleadings, dismissing an action, or rendering default judgment-a party's remedy by eventual appeal is inadequate, unless the sanctions are imposed simultaneously with the rendition of a final, appealable judgment." Walker v. Packer ,
[W]hen pleadings are struck, actions dismissed, or default judgments entered, the party against whom the action is taken has little else to do. Under those circumstances, he has no realistic opportunity to develop a viable claim or defense. Indeed, his proceeding to trial could be viewed as a waste of judicial time since the outcome of the suit has been all but determined. The same cannot be said, however, when the litigant has other claims or defenses unaffected by the trial court's decision. Under those circumstances, he has matters to pursue in a trial and their eventual outcome of the proceeding has not been pre-determined.
*919In re Thornton-Johnson ,
Second, we are not persuaded that mandamus review is essential to give needed and helpful direction regarding Section 114.063 that would otherwise prove elusive in an appeal from a final judgment. See In re Prudential Inc. Co. of Am. ,
Finally, Cousins' complaint that he must utilize personal funds
Accordingly, under the circumstances of this case, we conclude that an ordinary appeal of the order denying Cousins' motion for court ordered payment of his legal fees and litigation expenses from the Trust estates serves as a plain, adequate, and complete remedy. See Tex. Dep't of Family and Protective Servs. ,
DISPOSITION
Having determined that Cousins failed to establish his entitlement to mandamus relief, we deny the petition for writ of mandamus. We lift our stay of proceedings ordered on April 27, 2018. All pending motions are overruled as moot .
Respondent is the Honorable Robert C. Wilmoth, sitting by assignment for the 349th District Court in Houston County, Texas. The Real Parties in Interest are James R. Turn and Virginia Sessions Turn. Other interested parties include Catherine Golden and Robert Craig Turn. Intervenor is Edward D. Jones and Company.
The trust code allows a trustee to "employ attorneys, accountants, agents, including investment agents, and brokers reasonably necessary in the administration of the trust estate."
Citing In re Lennar Homes of Texas Sales and Marketing, Ltd. , No. 02-15-00174-CV,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.