Second Court of Appeals

Summaries of Civil Opinions and Published Criminal Opinions Issued - Week of July 29, 2024.

NOTE: Summaries are prepared by the court's staff attorneys and law clerks for public information only and reflect his or her interpretation alone of the facts and legal issues. The summaries are not part of the court's opinion in the case and should not be cited to, quoted, or relied upon as the opinion of the court.

Links to full text of opinions (PDF version) can be accessed by clicking the cause number.

Estate of Moncrief, Nos. 02-23-00021-CV, 02-23-00058-CV (Aug. 1, 2024) (Wallach, J., joined by Sudderth, C.J.; Birdwell, J., dissents with opinion).

Held: In probate court proceedings relating to a decedent’s estate, Appellees raised issues challenging the capacity of the decedent and alleging undue influence and fraudulent inducement by Appellant. Because those issues were part of an arbitration process that Appellants were entitled to pursue, it was an abuse of the probate court’s discretion not to stay those issues pending the result of arbitration.

Dissent: As a matter of law, the statutory probate court—not an arbitrator—has exclusive jurisdiction to determine the fundamental issues of testamentary capacity and undue influence.