Conte v. Ditta

This appeal is before us on remand from the Supreme Court of Texas. Ditta v. Conte, 298 S.W.3d 187 (Tex. 2009). Having reversed our Court’s earlier judgment that this trustee-removal suit was barred by the four-year statute of limitations applicable to a breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim, the Supreme Court remanded the case for consideration of the merits of the appeal.

Appellee, Louis M. Ditta (“Ditta”), acting in his capacity as the Guardian of the Estate of Doris L. Conte (“Doris”), an Incapacitated Person, filed suit seeking the removal of appellant, Susan C. Conte (“Susan”), as trustee of the Conte Family Trust. After a bench trial, the probate court ruled in Ditta’s favor and issued two orders. The first order removed Susan as trustee, and the second order modified the terms of the Conte Family Trust and appointed a successor trustee. In three issues, Susan argues that the probate court erred in (1) removing her from her position as trustee, (2) modifying the trust’s prescribed method of appointing successor trustees, and (3) appointing a successor trustee. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part for orders consistent with this opinion.