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SUPPLEMENTAL CLERK’S RECORD
Appellate Court Case Number 01‐22‐00202‐CV
Volume ____1_______ of ____1_______
Trial Court Cause No. 20‐CV‐1564
In the Court 122nd District Court
of Galveston County, Texas
Honorable John Ellisor Judge Presiding
_________________________________________________________________
Robert L Moody, Jr. vs. Greer, Herz, & Adams, LLP, Et Al
_________________________________________________________________
Appealed to the Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas, at, Houston, Texas
Attorney for Appellants(s): Anthony G Buzbee
Address: The Buzbee Law Firm
JP Morgan Chase Tower
600 Travis, Suite 7300
Houston, TX 77002
Telephone Number: 713‐223‐5393
Fax Number: 713‐223‐5909
E‐Mail Address: tbuzbee@txattorneys.com
State Bar 0f Texas Number: 24001820
Name Of Appellant/s: Robert L Moody, Jr.
Name of clerk preparing the clerk’s record: John D. Kinard, District Clerk of Galveston County, Texas
By /s/ : Shailja Dixit
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Supplemental Clerk’s Record
Case Number 20‐CV‐1564 ‐ 122nd District Court
Robert L Moody, Jr. vs. Greer, Herz, & Adams, LLP, Et Al
Date Filed and Document Name Page#
2022‐11‐23_Title 1
2022‐11‐23_Index 2
2022‐11‐23_Caption 3
2020-10-20_Motion to Transfer Venue- Irwin Herz, Trustee of the Three R Trust's 4
2022-11-25_Case Summary 534
2022-11-28_Cost Bill 553
2022-11-28_Clerk’s Certificate 556
2
Supplemental Clerk’s Record
Appeal Caption
The State of Texas
County of Galveston
In 122nd District Court at Galveston, Texas, within and for the County of Galveston, before the
Honorable John Ellisor, Judge thereof Presiding, the following case came on for trial, to-wit:
CASE NUMBER 20-CV-1564
Robert L Moody, Jr. vs. Greer, Herz, & Adams, LLP, Et Al
3
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Distn'ct Clerk
Clerk Harris
Envelope
Harris County
County
Envelope No. 44448162
No. 44448162
By:
By: Lewis
Lewis John-Miller
John-Miller
Cause No. 2020-31023
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Cause No. 2020-3 1023
Filed:
Filed: 7/13/20209:10
7/13/2020 9:1 o AM
ROBERT L.
L. MOODY, JR.
JR. §§ 1N THE DISTRICT COMQB k
§§ gfé’gcirh'cflfio
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§§ HARRIS C0 ffi‘xmw
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TE’MS
GREER, HERZ, & ADAMS
HERz, & §§
LLP “BUDDY” HERZ
LLP,, IRWIN "BUDDY" HERz,, §§
JR.,
IR, and ROSS RANKIN §§
MOODY. §§ 55TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
IRWIN HERZ, TRUSTEE OF THE THREE R TRUSTS'S,
TRUSTS’S.
MOTION TO TRANSFER VENUE TO GALVESTON COUNTY, AND, SUBJECT TO
THAT MOTION, HIS ORIGINAL ANSWER AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
Defendant Irwin
Irwin "Buddy" Herz, Jr.
“Buddy” Herz, Jr. ("Defendant
(“Defendant Herz" or "Trustee
Hérz” or “Trustee Herz"),
Herz”), individually
individually
and as
as Trustee of the
the Three R Trusts,
Trusts, hereby
hereby files
files this
this Motion to
t0 Transfer
Transfer Venue to
to Galveston
Galveston
County and,
and, subject
subject to without waiver of that
to and without that transfer
transfer motion,
motion, his
his Original
Original Answer and
and
Affirmative
Affirmative Defenses to
to Robert
Robert Moody, Jf.'
Jr.’ss Original
Original Petition,
Petition, and
and in
in support
support thereof
thereof would
respectfully
respectfully show the
the Court as
as follows:
follows:
MOTION TO TRANSFER VENUE
Trust Code mandates
The Texas Trust mandates that venue in
that venue in this case must
this case must be
be where the Trusts are
the Trusts are
administered or
administered or where the
the Trustee
Trustee resides.
resides. In
In both
both cases,
cases, that
that is Galveston County.
is Galveston County. Even if
if that
that
not
were not so, however, venue in
so, in Ham's
Harris County
County would be
be improper.
improper. None of
of the
the parties
parties live
live in
in .
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Harris County.
Harris County. Plaintiff Robert
The Plaintiff Robert Moody Jr.
Jf. (“Robert
("Robert Jr.”
Jf." or
or Plaintiff),
Plaintiff), Defendant Greer,
Greer, Herz
of W
1
& L.L.P. (“GHA”),
Adams L.L.P. ("GHA"), and Defendant Trustee
Trustee Irwin
Irwin “Buddy”
"Buddy" Herz,
Herz, Jr.
Jr. (“Trustee
("Trustee Herz”)
Herz") all
all 5775:"
Page
live in or
in or their principal
principal offices
offices Galveston County,
in Galveston County, and
and Defendant
Defendant Ross
Ross Rankin
Rankin Moody
-
live have their in ,.
b
yr
g;
91271430
("Ross") lives
(“Ross”) lives in
in Travis
Travis County.
County. did aa substantial
Nor did substantial part of the
part of the alleged
alleged actions
actions that give rise
that give to
rise to
/"‘fj
q
Number:
his litigation
his litigation occur
occur in
in Harris
Harris County.
County. situs of
The situs of administration for the
administration for the Trusts at is‘sue’in
Trusts at issue in this
this
......
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litigation is in Galveston County,
litigation is in Galveston County, the
the entities
entities about
about which the
the Plaintiff
Plaintiff complains
complains in his Petition,
in his Petition,
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Motion to Transfer
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including Moody National Bank, the Moody Foundation, American National Insurance Company,
and others, are located in either Galveston County, or in the case of National Western Life Group,
Inc., in Travis County. None of the beneficiaries of the Trusts live in Harris County. There is no
reason and no basis in Texas law for this case to be brought in Harris County. As such, Defendants
respectfully request that this Court transfer this action to Galveston County.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A. Introduction
This is the fourth in a series of lawsuits filed by Plaintiff Robert Jr. as part of an "outright
war" being waged by him against his youngest brother, Defendant Ross Moody, and various
entities and business interests of their father, Robert Moody, Sr. ("Robert Sr."). The first was a
derivative suit brought by Robert Jf. against his brother, Defendant Ross Moody, and the publicly-
traded insurance company for which Ross is the Chainnan, President and CEO, National Western
Life Group, Inc. ("National Western"), as well as certain other directors of National Western. l
That suit was brought in Galveston County, Texas. It was dismissed and the district court assessed
$1.3 million in attorneys' fees against Robert Jr. Ex. 1 at xv. The second was a Sarbanes-Oxley
complaint filed against National Western with the Department of Labor, which was also dismissed.
Ex. 2. And the third was a suit brought against another publicly-traded insurance company,
American National Insurance Company ("American National"), for which Defendant Ross is the
non-officer Chairman, and for which Trustee Herz is a director. That suit was also brought in
Galveston, this time in federal court. It too was recently dismissed. Ex. 3. 2 Now, Robert Jf. has
initiated this fourth suit of his "outright war that could jeopardize what [their] father has built"-
1 See Rohert J" Afood"v, .Jr., {)erivative~v 011 Rehal/o/:Vat 'I IF. Uje Ins. Co. and Natl. W. !,ije Grp., Inc. l'. Ros,\' Rankin
....c l\Jaod"v et al.. No. 17 -CV-1196 (Tex. Dist.-Galveston [122 nd Dist. C1.] [filed Sept. 28. 20 l7]) .
11)
2 See A1aad"v v. Am. /v'at'lins. Ca., 3: 19-CV-00206, 2020 WL 3128259. at *1 (S.D. Tex. June 12,2020).
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this time trying a new forum-and has now included allegations against Trustee Herz, the Trustee
of the Three R Trusts for the past 49 years. Ex. 4 at RRMOOOlll; Ex. 5 at 1.
The crux of Robert Jr.' s grievances both in those prior lawsuits and in this one-made plain
on the face of the Petition-is that he is upset he has not been elected to the boards of, and has
been denied monetary and nonmonetary benefits from, various regulated financial institutions and
charitable foundations that were created by Moody family members in past decades-many of
which have little or nothing to do with the Three R Trusts. Compare Ex. 5 at 1-2 with Petition at
26-31. But certainly, neither Trustee Herz nor Ross Moody nor Defendant Greer, Herz & Adams
L.L.P-to the extent that any of them had the ability to even control such things-had any sort of
fiduciary obligation to ensure that Robert Jr. sat on a sufficient number of boards and/or received
a sufficient amount of monetary and non-monetary perks from these various institutions and
foundati ons.
B. The Three R Trusts
Robert Sr. established the Three R Trusts in Galveston in 1960 as irrevocable trusts to
benefit his children and their descendants. They have been amended a few times during their
existence, each time in Galveston County. E.g., Ex. 6 ("Trust Agreement") at 1, 9, 15, 20. There
are four beneficiaries of the Three R Trusts-Plaintiff Robert Jr., Defendant Ross, and their
siblings, non-parties Frances Moody-Dahlberg ("Francie") and Russell Moody. Plaintiff Robert
Jr. is a resident of Galveston County, Defendant Ross is a resident of Travis County, Francie is a
resident of Dallas, and Russell lives in League City, in Galveston County. Ex. 7 ("Declaration of
Irwin Herz Jr.") at ~ 16. The Settlor of the Trusts, Robert Sr., remains in Galveston and his interests
are managed by a Power of Attorney that is administered in Galveston. Ex. 7 at ~ 14 .
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Herz became Trustee of the Three R Trusts in 1971 (Ex. 7 at ~ 11), when the assets were
worth approximately $4 million. The Three R Trusts are currently worth well in excess of $400
million. The assets of the Three R Trusts include a majority interest in Moody Bancshares, Inc.-
which owns the majority of the stock in Moody National Bank-and the Regent Care entities,
which operate nursing homes. Both Moody National Bank and the Regent Care companies are
headquartered in Galveston County. Ex. 7 at ~ 18. Robert Jr.' s own office is located at the Moody
National Bank Tower in Galveston County. Ex. 7 at ~ 17. On the day before this lawsuit was
filed, in a conversation that took place in Galveston County, Plaintiff Robert Jr. told the President
of Regent Care and the President of Moody National Bank that each was doing an excellent job
and was to be highly commended and that the companies' financial conditions were outstanding.
Ex. 7 ~ 19. The Three R Trusts also own American National and National Western stock,
although in amounts that are negligible in relation to the total shares outstanding in those
compames. National Western is headquartered in Travis County but has offices in Galveston
County, while American National is headquartered in Galveston County. Ex. 7 at ~~ 33-34.
c. Trustee Irwin Herz
Trustee Herz has not served as Trustee of the Three R Trusts for the past 49-years for
financial gain. He does so as part of a commitment to his longtime personal friend, the Settlor of
the Trusts, Robert Sr., who was a groomsman at his wedding over 50 years ago. His fee for acting
as Trustee is only $200 per month. Ex. 7 at ~ 12. And Trustee Herz still lives in the same Galveston
home he purchased in 1979 at 2909 Dominique, Galveston, TX 77551 (the "Galveston Home").
Ex. 7 at ~ 2. This is the address that appears on his driver's license, where he is registered to vote,
and where his automobile is registered. Ex. 7 at ~ 3. It is also where Trustee Herz takes his
homestead exemption and his over-65 exemption. Ex. 7 at ~ 3. Plaintiff Robert Jr. is aware that
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Trustee Herz lives in Galveston, not Houston-because that is where he served him with this
lawsuit. In all respects, Trustee Herz both lives in, and administers the Trusts from, Galveston.
Ex. 7 at ~~ 1-4 ~ 10 ~ 13.
Historically, when Trustee Herz has met with Robert Sr. to discuss the Trusts, those
meetings have also taken place in Galveston. Though the routine has been paused for a few months
due to the recent pandemic, Trustee Herz has traditionally had lunch with Robert Sr. during the
work week on an almost daily basis at the American National executive dining room, also in
Galveston. Ex. 7 at ~ 15. Similarly, when Trustee Herz has phone calls or meetings with
beneficiaries of the Trusts, he typically does so from Galveston County. Ex. 7 at ~~ 13,21.
In 2001 Trustee Herz bought a second home, a one-and-a-halfbedroom condominium, in
Harris County, to have a place closer to his grandchildren (the "Houston Condo"). Ex. 7 at ~ 5.
Trustee Herz typically spends no more than one or two weekends a month at the Houston Condo.
Ex. 7 at ~ 7. He almost never spends weeknights at the Houston Condo-as little as a few times a
year. Ex. 7 at ~ 8. And he has never slept there for any extended period of time save for a few
month period in 2008 after Hurricane Ike hit Galveston and made living in his permanent residence
on the island impossible. Ex. 7 at ~ 9. Rather, Trustee Herz has always considered Galveston
County his permanent home and has never had any intention of residing in Harris County. Ex. 7
at ~~ 1, 10.
D. Greer, Herz, & Adams L.L.P.
Trustee Herz, through a professional corporation, is a partner in the law firm of Defendant
Greer, Herz & Adams, L.L.P ("GHA"). Ex. 7 at ~ 24. Trustee Herz has been associated with that
law firm for decades. Id. Though its name and circumstances have changed over the years, GHA
or its predecessor firms have provided legal services to various entities founded by Moody family
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members for decades. Ex. 7 at ~ 25. Before 1978, a predecessor firm to GHA in fact served as in-
house counsel at American National in addition to operating an outside practice for other clients
and businesses, including various Moody entities. Ex. 7 at ~ 26. In 1978, those lawyers moved the
firm outside of American National, but continued to provide legal services to American National
and other Moody and non-Moody entities. Ex. 7 at ~ 27. That law firm has changed names over
the years due to the retirement of various partners, but is now called GHA. Id In total, GHA or
its predecessors have provided legal services to American National and the Moody National Bank,
from its Galveston office, for around 90 years, and to the Moody Foundation for over 70 years.
Ex. 7 at ~ 31.
The Trusts pay for legal services performed on its behalf by GHA and other law firms, as
is expressly permitted by the Trust Agreement. E.g., Ex. 4 at p.51 (Article II(d)-(e)). GHA
typically charges $200 per hour for its attorneys' services to the Trusts and for companies
controlled by the Trusts, and between $300 and $450 per hour to other entities, such as American
National. Ex. 7 at ~ 30. GHA has two offices-its principal office in Galveston, and a second
office in League City-both of which are in Galveston County. Ex. 7 at ~ 28. Trustee Herz's sole
office, from which he performs much of his work for the Trusts, is at GHA's office in Galveston.
Ex. 7 at ~ 29.
E. Administration of the Three R Trusts
For the past few years, the trust department of the Moody National Bank has assisted in
keeping the accounts and the books of the Trusts. The trust officers who do this are located at
Moody National Bank's headquarters in Galveston County. Ex. 7 at ~ 20. Before that, personnel
in Robert Sr.' s office, at Moody National Bank Tower, also in Galveston, assisted with the
bookkeeping for the Trusts. Id.
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Over these past few years, Trustee Herz has held meetings every one-to-two months with
the four beneficiaries of the Trusts, the Moody Bank president, the Moody Bank Senior Trust
officer, and other Bank employees present. These meetings take place at the ground floor
conference room of the Moody National Bank in Galveston. Ex. 7 at ~ 21. At these meetings,
issues relating to Three R Trusts' investments and administration are disclosed in detail. ld. The
beneficiaries have also received financial statements and tax returns from the Trusts for at least the
past twenty years, prepared by an accounting firm in Galveston. Ex. 7 at ~ 22.
F. Other Moody Entities
Although the Petition mentions the Moody Foundation 14 times and the Moody
Endowment 9 times, the Three R Trusts have little to do with either, which are independent
charitable organizations and not a part of the corpus of the Three R Trusts. The Moody Foundation
was established by W.L. Moody, lr. and Libbie Shearn Moody (Robert Sr.'s grandparents) in 1942
as a charitable trust "for the furtherance of 'religious, charitable, scientific and educational uses'
within the State of Texas." Moody v. Haas, 493 S.W.2d 555,556 (Tex. App.-Houston [14 th Dist.]
1973). Since its inception, the Foundation has made over $1.9 billion in contributions throughout
the state of Texas. The Moody Endowment was formed by Robert Sr. in 1985 as a non-profit
organization providing financial support to the Transitional Learning Center (located in Galveston
since the early 1980s and also known as the Moody Neurorehabilitation Institute), which provides
survivors of brain injury with rehabilitation services.
Even if the Moody Foundation or the Moody Endowment-or Robert lr.'s entitlement to
board seats or board fees on or from them-had some bearing on this case, however, both
organizations, like nearly all the other entities and individuals named in the Petition, are not located
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in Harris County. Both are headquartered in Galveston County, although the Moody Foundation
also has a small office in Dallas. Ex. 7 at ~ 32.
Robert Jr. 's attempt to forum-shop this lawsuit to a new venue-Harris County-because
his prior complaints about his position with respect to Moody-related financial institutions, two of
which are publicly traded, and charitable foundations, achieved no success in Galveston, in either
state court or federal court, should not be allowed. His serial litigation against Defendant Ross
and the Moody family entities-now including Trustee Herz, who has served loyally as Trustee
for almost 50 years-constitutes an abuse of the legal system, and so too would it be to allow this
case, where none of the relevant Trusts, individuals, entities, or events are located in Harris County,
to proceed here.
SPECIFIC DENIAL OF VENUE PLAINTIFF'S ALLEGATIONS
Trustee Herz specifically denies each and every allegation within the Petition that could be
construed as a venue allegation, if any. Trustee Herz specifically denies that he resides in Harris
County. Trustee Herz specifically denies that Harris County is the county in which all or a
substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred. Trustee Herz is a
resident of Galveston County. The Trusts are administered in Galveston County. The complaints
made by Robert Jr.-regarding the perceived denial of various perks from publicly traded and
regulated financial institutions and charitable boards, the alleged conflicts of interest in the
performance of legal services, and the other alleged breaches of fiduciary duty-to the extent they
happened at all, which Trustee Herz denies, could only have happened in Galveston County (or,
for National Western, in Travis County), where the relevant parties, companies, and foundations,
are almost entirely located.
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ARGUMENT & AUTHORITIES
Plaintiff Robert lr. bears the burden of demonstrating that venue in Harris County is
appropriate in this case. "The plaintiff has the first choice to fix venue in a proper county by
bringing the action in the county of his choice. If a defendant obj ects to the plaintiff s choice
through a timely motion to transfer venue, the plaintiff must prove that venue is proper in the
county of suit." Cantil v. Howard S. Grossman, P.A., 251 S.W.3d 731, 735 (Tex. App.-Houston
[14th Dist.] 2008, no pet.). He cannot do so because venue is improper in Harris County.
Plaintiff argues that venue is appropriate in Harris County on two grounds-(l) that
Trustee Herz is a resident of Harris County and (2) all or a substantial amount of the events at issue
took place in Harris County. See Petition at 5. Defendants specifically deny both of these
assertions. First, venue in this case is mandatory where Trustee Herz resides under Section
115.002 of the Texas Trust Code. See Tex. Prop. Code § 115.002. While Trustee Herz owns a
one-and-a-half-bedroom condominium in Houston, Texas where he might spend a few days a
month visiting his grandkids, his residence, is-and has been nearly his entire life-Galveston,
County. Ex. 7 at ~~ 1-10. Second, because venue is mandatory in Trustee Herz's county of
residence, whether or not a "substantial amount of the events" took place in Harris County is
irrelevant. Even if it were relevant, however, it is not true. The Plaintiff, the Defendants, the
Trusts, the non-party beneficiaries, the Settlor, and the financial institutions and various charitable
organizations complained of in the Petition are almost entirely located in Galveston County (or,
alternatively, in Travis County), not in Harris County.
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~ I. The Trust Code Provides for Mandatory Venue of Galveston County
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Venue in this action is controlled by Section 115.002 of the Texas Trust Code. See Tex.
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Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, that provision controls over the general venue rules. Tex.
Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § lS.016 ("An action governed by any other statute prescribing
mandatory venue shall be brought in the county required by that statute. ").
Section 11S.002 provides that the "venue of an action under Section 11S.001"-meaning
any action "by or against a trustee and all proceedings concerning trusts"-"shall be brought in
the county in which: (1) the trustee resides or has resided at any time during the four-year period
preceding the date the action is filed~ or (2) the situs of administration of the trust is maintained or
has been maintained at any time during the four-year period preceding the date the action is filed."
Tex. Prop. Code. § 11S.002(b)(l)-(2). Section 11S.002 uses the language shall, and therefore
provides for mandatory, not permissive, venue. III re Wheeler, 441 S.W.3d 430,434 (Tex. App.-
Waco 2014, no pet.) ("Section 11S.002 of the Texas Property Code is a mandatory-venue
provision."); see also III reJ.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 373 S.W.3d 610,614 (Tex. App.-San
Antonio 2012, no pet.).
This action is both against a Trustee and concerns trusts, the Three R Trusts. See e.g.,
Petition at 4. Therefore venue is only proper in a county where the trustee resides or has resided
in the previous four years and/or where the situs of administration of the trust is maintained or has
been maintained during the previous four years. In both cases, the only appropriate venue for this
case is Galveston County. Because there is mandatory venue in this case, a failure to transfer this
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96 S.W.3d 673, 677 (Tex. App.-Austin 2003, no pet.).
A. It is Undisputed that the Situs of the Trusts is Galveston County
First, it cannot be disputed that the situs of the Three R Trusts is and always has been
Galveston County. The "situs of administration" is the location where "the trustee maintains the
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office that is responsible for dealing with the settlor and beneficiaries of the trust." Tex. Prop.
§ 115.002(£)(3). Trustee Herz has been the sole trustee of the Trusts since 1971, for nearly 50
years. Ex. 7 ~ 11. Trustee Herz's office is located in Galveston County. Ex. 7 ~ 4. The trust
department of the Moody National Bank, which assists with the bookkeeping of the Trusts and
holds the accounts of the Trusts, is also located in Galveston County. Ex. 7 ~~ 20-21. Trustee
Herz deals with the beneficiaries of the Trust-who live in Travis County (Ross), Galveston
County (Robert Jr., Russell), and Dallas County (Francie)-from Galveston County. Ex. 7 at
~~ 16~ 21. In fact, Plaintiff Robert Jr.'s own home and office are in Galveston County. Petition at
4, 23 (complaining about an alleged attempt to "evict" Robert Jr. "from his office that he has had
for more than thirty three years" at Moody National Bank).
Trustee Herz's dealings with the Settlor of the Trust, Robert Moody, Sr. have also largely
taken place in Galveston. Though Robert Moody Sr. has been ill for the last few years, before the
recent pandemic, Trustee Herz, as his longtime personal friend, had continued to have lunch with
him during the work week on a daily basis at the American National executive dining room in
Galveston. Ex. 7 ~~ 14-15. These facts are conclusive in terms of determining the situs of the
administration of the trust. See In re Green, 527 S.W.3d 277, 280 (Tex. App.-EI Paso 2016, no
pet.) (trial court abused its discretion by denying motion to transfer venue to county where
"business office" where trustee "dealt with the trust beneficiaries primarily" was located). Finally,
the terms of the Trust Agreement, which have been amended various times, have always been so
amended in Galveston County. See e.g.. Ex. 6 at pp. 1, 9, 15, 20. In his Petition, Plaintiff Robert
Jr. does not (and cannot) deny that the situs of administration for the Trusts is in Galveston.
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B. Trustee Herz Resides in Galveston County
Second, Trustee Herz resides in Galveston County, not in Harris County. Plaintiff Robert
Jr. alleges that Trustee Herz has two residences-one in Galveston County and a second residence
in Harris County. See Petition at 5, n.4. It is true that Trustee Herz owns propert