Willie Rhoneta Seay, Petitioner v. William K. Hall, Respondents

Summary

The Texas Supreme Court held that statutory probate courts lack jurisdiction over both wrongful death and survival actions arising from a decedent's injury, affirming the probate court's dismissal of the wrongful death claim and reversing the appellate court's decision that the probate court could hear the survival claim. The decision rests on a narrow construction of the probate code and legislative intent that limits probate jurisdiction to matters where the controlling issue is the settlement, partition, or distribution of an estate.