Ford Motor Company v. Stewart, Cox, and Hatcher, P.C. and Turner & Associates, P.A.

This appeal arises from a dispute over the trial court’s sua sponte appointment of a guardian ad litem and subsequent fee award to the guardian ad litem in connection with a personal injury settlement between a minor-plaintiff and Ford Motor Company. Because the trial court should have removed the guardian ad litem after it became clear that the next friend did not have interests adverse to the minor, the guardian ad litem’s services were no longer necessary under Rule 173 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Therefore, the trial court abused its discretion when it awarded the guardian ad…