Cluck v. Mecom

401 S.W.3d 110, 2011 WL 883781, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 1850
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 15, 2011
DocketNo. 14-09-00837-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 401 S.W.3d 110 (Cluck v. Mecom) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cluck v. Mecom, 401 S.W.3d 110, 2011 WL 883781, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 1850 (Tex. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

CHARLES W. SEYMORE, Justice.

Appellants, Katsy Cluck (“Katsy”), John W. Mecom, III (“John”), and Mary Elizabeth Mecom Hahnfeld (“Mary Elizabeth”), appeal a summary judgment in favor of appellee, John W. Mecom, Jr., as Trustee of the Mary Elizabeth Mecom Irrevocable Trust No. II (“Mecom”), in appellants’ suit for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and civil theft. In four issues, appellants contend the trial court erred by rendering a no-evidence summary judgment relative to the merits of their claims and a traditional summary judgment based on the statute of limitations. We affirm the summary judgment on appellants’ conversion and civil-theft claims but reverse and remand the summary judgment on their claim for breach of fiduciary duty.1

I. BACKGROUND

Appellants are three of Mecom’s four children.2 Mary Elizabeth Mecom (“Mrs. [113]*113Mecom”), now deceased, was Mecom’s mother and appellants’ grandmother. In 1983, Mrs. Mecom established “The Mary Elizabeth Mecom Irrevocable Trust No. II.” In the trust instrument, she conveyed certain assets to the trust including a money-market fund, securities, bonds, partnership interests, promissory notes, accounts receivable, “[a]ll household goods and personal effects owned” by Mrs. Mecom, and real estate. Mrs. Mecom served as original trustee and named Mecom as successor trustee. Mecom has served as trustee since Mrs. Mecom’s death on May 4, 1996. Under its terms, upon Mrs. Mecom’s death, the trust terminated and appellants became successor beneficiaries because no power of appointment was exercised in Mrs. Mecom’s will.

On August 13, 2008, Katsy filed the underlying suit against Mecom and also joined John and Mary Elizabeth as involuntary plaintiffs. In their live pleading, appellants allege that Mecom has not made any distributions to them as required under the trust, has failed to fully disclose transactions involving trusts assets, and converted, stole, and squandered assets. Appellants further allege that Me-com committed such misconduct via the following actions: (1) as executor of, and sole heir under, Mrs. Mecom’s will, Mecom did not classify certain assets as property of the estate when filing probate documents and estate-tax returns, but after the probate matter was closed, he claimed ownership of these assets as property of the estate rather than the trust; (2) Me-com forgave his own debts to the trust without any consideration to the trust or the beneficiaries; and (3) Mecom commingled trust assets with his own property or sold assets and retained the proceeds. Appellants plead claims for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and liability under the Texas Theft Liability Act. Appellants request damages, a declaratory judgment “determining [their] rights and interests,” an order compelling an accounting, attorney’s fees, removal of Mecom as trustee, and appointment of a successor trustee or a receiver.

Mecom filed an amended motion for summary judgment including (1) a no-evidence ground challenging elements of appellants’ claims, and (2) a traditional ground contending all claims are barred by the applicable statutes of' limitations.3 In their response, appellants presented evidence purporting to defeat the no-evidence ground, and, consistent with their pleading, appellants raised the discovery rule and doctrine of fraudulent concealment relative to the limitations ground. On September 15, 2009, the trial court signed an order granting summary judgment on both the no-evidence and traditional grounds. Subsequently, the trial court denied appellants’ motion for reconsideration.

II. No-Evidence Summary Judgment

In appellants’ first three issues, they challenge no-evidence summary judgment on all their claims.

A. Standard of Review

After adequate time for discovery, a party may move for summary judgment on the ground there is no evidence of one or more essential elements of a claim on which an adverse party would have the [114]*114burden of proof at trial. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i); W. Invs., Inc. v. Urena, 162 S.W.3d 547, 550 (Tex.2005). The movant must state the elements on which there is no evidence. Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i). Unless the respondents produce summary-judgment evidence raising a genuine issue of material fact on the challenged element, the trial court must grant the motion. Id.; Urena, 162 S.W.3d at 550. To defeat a no-evidence motion for summary judgment, the non-movants need not marshal their evidence, but must identify in their response evidence raising a genuine issue of fact on the challenged elements. See comment to Tex.R. Civ. P. 166a(i); Johnson v. Brewer & Pritchard, P.C., 73 S.W.3d 193, 207 (Tex.2002); Pico v. Capriccio Italian Rest., 209 S.W.3d 902, 912 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, no pet.); San Saba Energy, L.P. v. Crawford, 171 S.W.3d 323, 330 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2005, no pet.).

We review a summary judgment de novo. Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 215 (Tex.2003). We take as true all evidence favorable to the nonmovants and indulge every reasonable inference and resolve any doubts in their favor. Id.

B. Breach of Fiduciary Duty

The elements of a claim for breach of fiduciary duty are (1) a fiduciary relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant, (2) a breach by the defendant of his fiduciary duty to the plaintiff, and (3) an injury to the plaintiff or a benefit to the defendant as a result of the breach. Priddy v. Rawson, 282 S.W.3d 588, 599 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2009, pet. denied) (citing Lundy v. Masson, 260 S.W.3d 482, 501 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, pet. denied); Jones v. Blume, 196 S.W.3d 440, 447 (Tex.App.-Dallas 2006, pet. denied); Punts v. Wilson, 137 S.W.3d 889, 891 (TexApp.-Texarkana 2004, no pet.)). In his motion, Mecom asserted that appellants have no evidence of the second and third elements.4

A fiduciary “has an affirmative duty to make a full and accurate confession of all his fiduciary activities, transactions, profits, and mistakes.” Jackson Law Office, P.C. v. Chappell, 37 S.W.3d 15, 22 (Tex.App.-Tyler 2000, pet. denied) (citing Montgomery v. Kennedy, 669 S.W.2d 309, 312-14 (Tex.1984); Kinzbach Tool Co., Inc. v. Corbett-Wallace Corp., 138 Tex. 565, 160 S.W.2d 509, 513-14 (1942)).

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Bluebook (online)
401 S.W.3d 110, 2011 WL 883781, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 1850, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cluck-v-mecom-texapp-2011.