Robert Paul Jackson v. Pamela S. Brown, Administratrix, etc.
801 S.E.2d 194, 2017 WL 2415331, 239 W. Va. 316 (2017)
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Rule of Law:
Under the West Virginia Uniform Trust Code, a trust is not liable for a tort committed by a trustee unless the tort was committed 'in the course of administering a trust,' which requires a direct connection to the trustee's duties and not merely an action that incidentally benefits trust property.
Facts:
- Robert Paul Jackson was a trustee for the Joelynn Family Preservation Trust, which owned the residence where he lived.
- On the morning of June 7, 2014, Jackson drove a truck owned by his separate oil company, not the Trust, to a restaurant for breakfast.
- After breakfast, Jackson went to a hardware store and purchased plastic pipes to install a French drain at the trust-owned residence.
- Shortly after leaving the hardware store, Jackson attempted to cross U.S. Route 50.
- Jackson failed to yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic and pulled his truck into the path of a motorcycle driven by Harry Myer, Jr.
- Myer's motorcycle collided with the rear of Jackson's truck.
- Myer sustained fatal injuries in the crash and died at the scene.
Procedural Posture:
- Pamela S. Brown, as Administratrix of Harry Myer, Jr.’s estate, filed a wrongful death action against Robert Paul Jackson in the Circuit Court of Ritchie County (trial court).
- After learning of the Joelynn Family Preservation Trust during discovery, Brown amended her complaint to add the Trust as a defendant.
- Brown filed a motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of Jackson's liability, which the circuit court granted.
- The Trust moved for summary judgment arguing it was not liable, but the circuit court denied the motion.
- A jury trial was held on the issues of damages and the Trust's liability.
- The jury found for Brown, awarding $543,202.17 in damages, and specifically found that Jackson was acting as an agent of the Trust at the time of the accident.
- Jackson and the Trust filed post-trial motions for judgment as a matter of law on the issue of the Trust's liability, which the circuit court denied.
- Jackson and the Trust (appellants) appealed the circuit court's final order to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
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Issue:
Is a trust liable for a tort committed by its trustee when the trustee, while driving a non-trust vehicle on a personal errand, negligently causes a fatal automobile accident shortly after purchasing materials intended for the maintenance of trust property?
Opinions:
Majority - Justice Ketchum
No, a trust is not liable for a tort committed by its trustee under these circumstances. West Virginia Code § 44D-10-1010(c) provides that a claim based on a tort committed by a trustee may be asserted against the trust only if the tort was committed 'in the course of administering a trust.' The court found that Jackson was not in the course of administering the Trust at the time of the accident. Several factors supported this conclusion: the truck was not owned by the Trust, there was no evidence Trust money was used for the pipes, the purchase was not directed by the beneficiaries or the trust document, and Jackson had been on personal errands (eating breakfast) just prior to the purchase. The tortious act itself—a traffic violation—was not connected to a duty, obligation, or business transaction Jackson was carrying out in furtherance of the Trust. Therefore, the act of driving home after a personal errand that also involved an incidental benefit to the trust did not place him 'in the course of administering' it.
Analysis:
This decision formally adopts the standard from the West Virginia Uniform Trust Code for vicarious liability and explicitly overrules prior common law precedent. It shifts the legal test for a trust's liability from the outdated 'beneficiary control' standard to the modern 'in the course of administering a trust' standard, aligning West Virginia with the majority of jurisdictions. This clarification provides greater protection for trust assets against claims arising from a trustee's personal negligence. Future cases will require a close factual analysis of the trustee's activities at the time of the tort to determine if they were sufficiently connected to official trust administration rather than personal matters.
