HOUSTON - A Houston-area probate judge has filed a Motion to Dismiss the federal lawsuit that a Texas doctor filed against him over her elderly mother’s final wishes before she died under court-appointed guardianship.
Harris County Probate Judge Michael Newman, a Democrat, seeks a judgment that Plaintiff Dr. Sheila Owens Collins takes nothing against him.
“Judge Newman denies that Plaintiff’s constitutional rights have been violated, or that he is liable to Plaintiff in any amount, under any theory,” wrote Attorney Barbara A. Callistien in the pleading.
As previously reported in the SE Texas Record, Dr. Owens Collins sued Harris County Probate Judge Michael Newman last month in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston.
While the Honorable Judge Newman acknowledges that Mrs. Owens’ will named her physician daughter, Dr. Owens-Collins, to serve as an independent executor, he also states in his Motion to Dismiss that the physician’s siblings challenged the validity of the will.
Dr. Owens Collins, whose siblings include Angelia Sapp, Mel Owens and Emiel Owens, is a neonatologist on staff at a Clearlake hospital and other hospitals nationwide.
“Plaintiff’s three siblings alleged that the will was not executed with proper formalities, that the will was a forgery, and that their mother [Mrs. Owens] lacked the necessary testamentary capacity and intent required for a valid will,” Callistien, Judge Newman’s attorney, wrote in the pleading. “Additionally, they asserted that their sister was unsuitable to serve as independent executor as a result of misusing her mother’s power of attorney, which she held as agent prior to their mother’s death.”
Regarding excessive fees and costs, the Honorable Judge Newman stated in his Motion to Dismiss that he’d acted as required under Texas Estate Code Sections 1054.07 (b) and 1054.055 (a) and (b).
“The specific act alleged as improper by the Plaintiff represents a normal judicial function for a probate judge such as Judge Newman,” wrote Attorney Callistien on behalf of Judge Newman. “Additionally, Plaintiff does not allege that Judge Newman’s actions in handling the guardianship fees before him took place anywhere other than the courtroom.”
The Honorable Judge Newman recused himself from underlying litigation in Harris County probate court involving the estate of Mrs. Hattie Owens on Nov. 3, according to media reports.