Frost National Bank v. Fernandez

JUSTICE O’NEILL and JUSTICE GUZMAN did not participate in the decision.

Believing herself to be the non-marital child of John G. Kenedy, Jr., Ann M. Fernandez has initiated multiple proceedings in both district court and statutory probate court to set aside decadesold judgments and reopen the estates of Kenedy, his wife, and his sister, and to declare Fernandez an heir to those estates. The defendants filed motions for summary judgment in the district court arguing numerous grounds, including that because Fernandez’s heirship claim was barred by limitations, she could not establish an interest in the estates and could not pursue bills of review. The district court granted summary judgment against Fernandez in a broadly-worded order that did not specify the grounds. The principal issue on appeal is whether the district court had jurisdiction to render summary judgment when similar bill of review proceedings and applications for determination of heirship were pending in the probate court. The court of appeals held that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and was required to abate its proceedings until the probate court first resolved questions of heirship. We disagree. Fernandez’s pleadings and her direct attack on a previous judgment vested the district court with subject matter jurisdiction. Moreover, the Texas Probate Code does not authorize a probate court to exercise jurisdiction over heirship claims when an estate has been closed for decades and the decedent did not die intestate. We therefore reverse those parts of the court of appeals’ judgment that relate to jurisdiction and abatement. Further, we hold that the discovery rule does not apply to inheritance or heirship claims by non-marital children, or bill of review claims to set aside probate judgments. Because Fernandez’s claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations, we render judgment reinstating the district court’s judgment. In light of today’s ruling, we conclude that none of Fernandez’s claims for heirship or inheritance rights to the Kenedy estate remain viable, so we affirm the portion of the court of appeals’ judgment that set aside the district court’s anti-suit injunction.