- Lackey v. Templeton
- 09-17-00183-CV, 2018 WL 3384570
- 1A District Court of Jasper County
- Justice McKeithen, July 12 2018
- Templeton sough declaratory judgment for 100% ownership to the mineral estate of two tracts of land. Multiple parties involved.
- Defendants filed an answer and special exceptions complaining that Templetons brought the wrong cause of action to obtain determination of tile; rather, Templetons should have pled the case as a trespass-to-try-title. Each side filed a motion for summary judgment.
- The trial court granted partial summary judgment to Templetons.
- By looking to the Declaratory Judgments Act, the Texas Property Code, and recent Supreme Court precedent, the Ninth Court held that a dispute involving a claim of superior title must be brought as a trespass-to-try-title action. Lance v. Robinson, 543 S.W.3d 723, 735-36 (Tex. 2018). The underlying nature of the suit is not altered by couching request relief as declaratory. Templetons were required to plead and prove a trespass-to-try-title claim. All trial court orders on summary judgments were reversed; plaintiffs take nothing.
Skip to content
Copyright© 2018 | Disclaimer
This site is maintained by Jefferson W. Fisher of Orgain Bell & Tucker LLP.
Principal Office in Beaumont, Texas