Ruby Yarbrough and Wilburn E. Yarbrough v. Household Finance Corporation III

OPINION

Sharon McCally, Justice

In an issue of first impression, we must decide whether an affirmative defense of forgery, supported by an affidavit alleging that the defendants’ signatures on a deed of trust were forged, raises a genuine issue of title intertwined with the issue of possession sufficient to deprive a justice court of jurisdiction in a forcible detainer action. We hold that it does. The courts below lacked jurisdiction in this forcible detainer action because determining the right to possession necessarily required the resolution of a title dispute. We reverse the trial court’s…