Swanson Midgley Attorney Michael Blanton Wins Appeal that Clarifies the Statute of Limitations for Breach of Trust Actions in Missouri
03/19/09
Swanson Midgley attorney Michael Blanton recently won an appeal that clarifies the statute of limitations for breach of trust actions in Missouri. The case, Gould v. Gould, WD 69563 (Mo. Ct. App. W.D. February 27, 2009), was a breach of trust action involving the trustee’s failure to pay estate taxes and a resulting lien on the trust assets. The conduct which constituted the breach of trust occurred between 1986 and 1993. Proceedings to remove the trustee were commenced in 1994 and concluded in 1996. The trust and two beneficiaries filed a petition for breach of trust against the former trustee on March 13, 2006. The trial court subsequently entered judgment for plaintiffs on their breach of trust claim in the amount of $896,426.55.
The defendant trustee argued that the breach of trust action was barred by the statute of limitations set forth in R.S.Mo. Section 456.10-1005. This section is the statute of limitations for breach of trust actions under the new trust code which became effective on January 1, 2005. The Court held that Section 456.10-1005 did not apply because the breach of trust action had accrued prior to the January 1, 2005 effective date of that statute. The Court held that the prior statute of limitations for breach of trust actions, R.S.Mo. Section 456.220, applies to a breach of trust action that accrued prior to January 1, 2005. The Court further held that when a trustee fails to provide a final account or statement, the five-year limitation under Section 456.220.1 does not apply and the applicable period of limitations is the twenty-two-year limitation period set forth in Section 456.220.3. The Court concluded that the plaintiffs’ breach of trust action was timely because it was filed within the twenty-two-year limitations period.
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