FREDDA SUE MOWBRAY, Appellant, v. KRISTIN AVERY (FORMERLY KNOWN AS KRISTIN MOWBRAY) AND VIRGINIA HALE, Appellees., 76 S.W.3d 663

Summary

Pursuant to their divorce, some of the husband's life insurance proceeds were payable to his ex-wife and daughter, which he allegedly tried to change to be payable to his wife, forging her signature. The husband died of a gunshot to his head. The ex-wife and daughter sued. The wife was convicted of murder. Her conviction was reversed. The appellate court found that the wife was essentially arguing that an official mistake in her criminal trial prevented her from both presenting her defense in a meaningful manner and filing an effective appeal. Special exceptions could be used to determine whether she stated a permissible cause of action. The bill of review failed to state one. District attorneys were not court officials for purposes of a bill of review. The wife's request for a constructive trust, accompanied by the bare statement in her petition, that one was imposed in case of unjust enrichment, was adequate to constitute such a claim against the amount determined in the prior court ...