Ray H. Dawson, Jr. Janelle D. Stoner-Sellers

Summary

The court affirmed most of the circuit court’s rulings concerning administration of the family trusts, including the appointment of the special judge, interpretation of the trust language, denial of an accounting claim, denial of a special master, and refusal to invalidate the 2014 amendments. It reversed and remanded for a jury trial on the legal claims for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, fraud and concealment, and conspiracy, holding that the circuit court improperly applied the abolished clean-up doctrine to deny a jury trial. The court did not reach the trustee-breach and dismissal issues because those matters would be addressed on remand.