In Shaw v. Simpson, Sarah Shaw inherited her husband Shad’s business interests after his intestate death in 2018. No. 13-23-00549-CV, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 8545 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi November 6, 2025, no pet.). Sarah initiated probate proceedings in Kleberg County Court in August 2018. Richard Shaw (Shad’s father) sued Sarah in district court in October 2019 for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and fraud. Richard also filed a similar suit in county court seeking the same assets. Kleberg County has one statutory county court but no statutory probate court. Richard died, and his daughter became the executor of his estate. Richard’s executor filed a plea to the jurisdiction in the district court, arguing that the county court had sole jurisdiction over the probate issues in dispute. The district court granted the plea, and Sarah appealed.
The court of appeals reversed. The court reasoned that because Kleberg County has no statutory probate court, the county court has original—not exclusive—jurisdiction over probate matters. The district court has presumed subject-matter jurisdiction over civil matters with amounts in controversy exceeding $500. The court distinguished between subject-matter jurisdiction and dominant jurisdiction, noting that dominant jurisdiction is a venue issue that must be raised through a plea in abatement, which appellees never filed. Therefore, nothing divested the district court of jurisdiction to hear the parties’ claims.
