Texas Bank and Trust Company, Petitioner v. A. E. Moore, Respondent

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's judgment, holding that a fiduciary relationship existed between A.E. Moore and the decedent Maggie Dove Littell as a matter of law, that the presumption of unfairness in Moore's self‑dealing was unrebutted, and that exemplary damages and the master’s fees were proper. The Court reversed the Court of Civil Appeals and noted that the appointment of a master in chancery was within the trial court's discretion. The dissent argued the fiduciary issue is factual, and the concurrence agreed with the judgment but disagreed with the majority’s legal conclusion on fiduciary status.