Sabour v. Koller
Sabour v. Koller, 2024 UT App 26 (Mortensen, J.)
Civil Procedure
A family feud followed a sibling’s breach of his duties as trustee of a family trust. After a bench trial, the district court granted the complaining siblings much of their requested relief and removed the sibling as trustee. On appeal, the removed sibling raised five errors related to written disclosures, computation of damages, admissibility of expert testimony, and sufficiency of the evidence. The Utah Court of Appeals affirmed, holding:
- The five claims failed either on their merits or on harmlessness grounds.
- Practice tip: “Broad, conclusory statements” are insufficient disclosures under Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26. But under certain circumstances, including when a witness was deposed and provided information relevant to the disclosures, the deficiency may be harmless.
- Practice tip: The governing statutes do not require a showing of monetary damages to remove a trustee.