Court Opinion

ID: 9769977
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 15:10:01.328981+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:09.573357
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
RENFRO, Justice
(dissenting).
But for the generosity, foresight and business acumen of appellant’s grandfather, there would have been no trust for appellant. Under the management of appellant’s grandfather and Uncle, trustees, the trust grew from a value of a few thousand dollars at the time of its creation to a sizeable fortune by the time the trust terminated upon appellant’s reaching the age of thirty-five.
After a ten day jury trial, the court entered a fourteen page judgment. On pages 8 and 9 of the judgment (pp. 158-159 of the transcript) appears the following:
“That this is an equitable proceeding; that the evidence presented herein to the Court and Jury clearly demonstrated, and the Jury found, (1) that at all times while C. D. Shamburger, Jr. served as a Trustee of the P. P. Langford, III Trust he acted in good faith in the management of the affairs of the trust, and (2) that neither the said C. D. Shamburger, Jr., his father, C. D. Shamburger, Sr. or the estates of C. D. Shamburger, Sr. and Mrs. C. D. Shambur-ger, Sr. ever used any trust funds for their own personal benefit and profit. That said findings by the Jury are abundantly supported by the evidence in the case and such findings are adopted by the Court as its own findings with respect to those matters. * * * That the facts admitted in evidence do not support a finding, nor did the jury find, that the Defendant was guilty of gross negligence or of bad faith in the management of the affairs of the trust, and there was no evidence of probative force that the Defendant was ever guilty of any defalcation. That on the other hand the facts support the conclusion that the Defendant, as Trustee, acted honestly and in accordance with his best judgment in the management of the trust affairs, which the Court finds, and that he should be relieved from liability for any claimed violation of the provisions of the Texas Trust Act by virtue of the provisions of Article 7425b-24, Subdivision E thereof; * *
The provisions of the Trust Act referred to above provide that a court of competent jurisdiction may, for cause shown, wholly or partly release and excuse a trustee, who has acted honestly and reasonably, from liability for violation of the provisions of the Act.
In my opinion the record in this case is such that the court could properly exercise its authority to release and excuse the trustee from the claimed liability.
I would affirm the judgment of the trial court.