2023 Texas Statutes › Health and Safety Code › Title 5 - Sanitation and Environmental Quality › Subtitle B - Solid Waste, Toxic Chemicals, Sewage, Litter, and Water › Chapter 361 - Solid Waste Disposal Act › Subchapter T. Fiduciary Liability › Section 361.652. Liability of Fiduciaries

Sec. 361.652.  LIABILITY OF FIDUCIARIES.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided by Subchapter I, Chapter 26, Water Code, or rules adopted under that subchapter, the liability of a fiduciary under this code or the Water Code for the release or threatened release of solid waste at, from, or in connection with a solid waste facility held in a fiduciary capacity does not exceed the assets held in the fiduciary capacity.
(b)  Subsection (a) does not apply to the extent that a person is liable independently of the person's ownership of a solid waste facility as a fiduciary or actions taken in a fiduciary capacity.
(c)  Subsections (a) and (d) do not limit the liability pertaining to a release or threatened release of solid waste if negligence, gross negligence, or wilful misconduct of a fiduciary causes or contributes to the release or threatened release.
(d)  Except as otherwise provided by Subchapter I, Chapter 26, Water Code, or rules adopted under that subchapter, a fiduciary is not liable in the fiduciary's personal capacity under this code or the Water Code for:
(1)  undertaking or directing another person to undertake a response action under the national contingency plan adopted under 42 U.S.C. Section 9605, under a commission-approved cleanup plan, or under the direction of an on-scene coordinator designated under the national contingency plan or a commission-approved cleanup plan;
(2)  undertaking or directing another person to undertake any other lawful means of addressing solid waste in connection with the solid waste facility;
(3)  terminating the fiduciary relationship;
(4)  including in the terms of the fiduciary agreement a covenant, warranty, or other term or condition that relates to compliance with an environmental law or monitoring or enforcing the term or condition;
(5)  monitoring or undertaking one or more inspections of the solid waste facility;
(6)  providing financial or other advice or counseling to other parties to the fiduciary relationship, including the settlor or beneficiary;
(7)  restructuring, renegotiating, or otherwise altering the terms and conditions of the fiduciary relationship;
(8)  administering, as a fiduciary, a solid waste facility that was contaminated before the fiduciary relationship began;  or
(9)  declining to take an action described by Subdivisions (2)-(8).
(e)  This section does not:
(1)  affect a right, immunity, or defense available under this code or the Water Code that is applicable to a person subject to this section;
(2)  create any liability for a person;  or
(3)  create a private right of action against a fiduciary or any other person.
(f)  This section does not apply to a person if the person:
(1)  acts in a capacity other than that of a fiduciary or in a beneficiary capacity and, in that capacity, directly or indirectly benefits from a trust or fiduciary relationship;  or
(2)  is a beneficiary and a fiduciary with respect to the same fiduciary estate and, as a fiduciary, receives benefits that exceed customary or reasonable compensation, and incidental benefits, permitted under other applicable law.
(g)  This section does not preclude a claim under this code or the Water Code against:
(1)  the assets of the estate or trust administered by the fiduciary;  or
(2)  a nonemployee agent or independent contractor retained by a fiduciary.
Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 793, Sec. 15, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.