Hanson v. First State Bank & Trust

Clarke, Justice.

This is a dispute between a trustee bank and beneficiaries under a trust. Although it began as a suit for declaratory judgment by the trustee, it evolved into an action by the beneficiaries for removal of the trustee, damages and return of certain fees.

Numerous complex issues arose during the jury trial and each party moved for a directed verdict. The order entered by the trial court followed an extensive colloquoy between the court and counsel. It recites that counsel for all parties agreed that there were no factual questions to be decided by the jury, thus committing the…