Gray Reed Secures $1.2M Verdict and Permanent Injunction in First Harris County Probate Court Jury Trial of the COVID Era
On October 22, 2020, after a four-day trial in Harris County Probate Court #1, a 12-person jury unanimously found that the trustee Defendant intentionally and maliciously breached her fiduciary duties by refusing to administer trust assets to Gray Reed’s clients who were the sole beneficiaries of the trust. After closing argument by Gray Reed Associate Trey Avant, Gray Reed’s clients were awarded all of the requested relief including actual damages, exemplary damages and attorney’s fees, totaling $1.2M.
The beneficiaries were represented by Trey Avant and Aaron Dobbs, Chair of the firm’s Fiduciary and Probate Litigation Practice Group.
The Fiduciary and Probate Litigation Practice Group represents beneficiaries, executors, trustees, guardians, creditors and charitable organizations before trial courts and appellate courts across Texas in will contests and probate litigation; disputes involving beneficiary designations and gift transfers; trust litigation; contested guardianships and elder exploitation matters; fiduciary litigation; complex creditor claim controversies; and other inheritance disputes. In addition, the team assists individual executors, trustees, guardians and agents, and corporate fiduciaries avoid or mitigate litigation through fiduciary risk management, including preparation of accountings and beneficiary communications, fiduciary succession and trust modifications. Click here to learn more about Gray Reed’s Trusts & Estates Department and Fiduciary and Probate Litigation Practice Group.
About Gray Reed
A full-service Texas law firm with offices in Dallas, Houston and Waco, Gray Reed provides legal services to companies ranging from start-up to Fortune 500 as well as high net worth individuals. Gray Reed attorneys assist clients with a myriad of legal issues including commercial litigation, corporate transactions, oil and gas, tax planning and litigation, real estate, construction, healthcare, trusts and estates, employment law, family law, intellectual property and bankruptcy. For more information, visit www.grayreed.com.