Inheritance dispute leads to lawsuit

A Jefferson County woman is suing over an inheritance dispute.

Theresa Hartley, agent in fact for Thomas Lee Thibodeaux, filed a lawsuit Oct. 15 in Jefferson County District Court against Melissa Campbell.

According to the complaint, Thibodeaux was married to Nina LaPierre when she passed away Sept. 11, 2001, leaving a holographic will that gave him two houses and a life estate in a Sour Lake property in Liberty County and made him and Campbell co-independent administrators of her estate. The complaint states Campbell refused to take the steps to convey the properties to Thibodeaux and demanded he pay her $450,000, which Thibodeaux, who is 84, finally did in confusion. Campbell is accused of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, violating the theft liability act, unjust enrichment, and tortious interference with inheritance rights, and the complaint says Thibodeaux lacked the capacity to make such a transaction.

Hartley seeks actual and exemplary damages, a rescission of the transfer or a constructive trust imposed in Campbell's name, and a restraining order preventing Campbell from transferring the properties. She is represented attorneys Terry W. Wood and Randy Drewett of Beaumont.

Jefferson County District Court case number: B-196276.