HOUSTON - The Houston-area probate judge accused of estate trafficking and racketeering is disputing the allegations of a Texas physician who sued in federal court after her 91-year-old mother Hattie Owens died under court-appointed guardianship, a press release states.
As previously reported in the SE Texas Record, Dr. Sheila Owens Collins sued Harris County Probate Judge Michael Newman, individually and in his official capacity in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Oct. 22, 2020.
“Judge Newman is entitled to judicial immunity on all of Plaintiff’s claims against him," wrote Attorney Rachel Fraser in Judge Newman’s Feb. 19 Motion to Dismiss. "Judge Newman seeks a judgment that Plaintiff takes nothing against him.”
The plaintiff filed an amended complaint against Judge Newman on Feb. 5 accusing him of racketeering and estate trafficking.
“This Court does not serve as an appellate tribunal to review errors allegedly committed by state courts,” Attorney Fraser wrote in Judge Newman’s pleading. “Nor is this Court the appropriate forum to allege racketeering crimes or assert violations of judicial canons. Finally, any such allegations by Plaintiff are wholly conclusory and should not be considered by this Court.”
Regarding the allegation that Judge Newman violated any constitutional rights, Attorney Fraser asserts that Judge Newman acted as required under the Texas Estates Code.
“All of the complaints which Plaintiff makes arose out of visits/interactions with the judge in his official capacity, as Plaintiff’s claims against him in that capacity in this case demonstrate,” wrote Fraser. “Judge Newman, therefore, is entitled to judicial immunity.”
While Judge Newman acknowledges in his Motion to Dismiss that Mrs. Hattie Owens’ will named the plaintiff to serve as an independent executor, he also states that the physician’s siblings challenged the validity of the will in probate court.
“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,” Fraser stated.
The plaintiff’s siblings include Angelia Sapp, Mel Owens, and Emiel Owens.
“Plaintiff’s three siblings alleged that the will was not executed with proper formalities, that the will was a forgery, and that their mother lacked the necessary testamentary capacity and intent required for a valid will,” Fraser, the Judge’s attorney, said in the pleading.
The Motion to Dismiss referenced exhibits, including a letter filed in probate court in March 2019 by Mel Owens, which alleges that the physician was caught cashing checks against her mother’s bank account in excess of $70,000 and that she had destroyed Mrs. Hattie Owens’ medical records in an attempt to be appointed guardian.
“Controversy and competing interests in contests before a court make it more likely that the inevitable losing party may ascribe malevolent motives to the presiding judge,” Fraser stated.
Judge Newman also rebutted the claim that he awarded excessive fees and costs.
“The Plaintiff’s complaints of Judge Newman abusing his discretion by overpaying court-appointed attorneys in the guardianship and probate matters, and her complaint that he failed to uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary, do not reflect that Judge Newman acted outside the scope of his judicial capacity,” said Fraser in the brief. “The specific act alleged as improper by the Plaintiff represents a normal judicial function for a probate judge such as Judge Newman.”