Hughes v. Cafferty

PARRISH, Justice:

¶ 1 In this case, we address the issue of when a court, sitting in equity, may award attorney fees to a beneficiary who sues a trustee for breach of trust. The trial court found that petitioners Joseph Hughes and Eva M. Cafferty (“Joe” and “Rikki”) breached family trust agreements by wrongfully assuming the roles of trustees, improperly excluding their siblings from trust management, failing to regularly account to trust beneficiaries, and paying themselves excessive and unauthorized trustee fees. Consequently, the trial court ordered Joe and Rikki to repay various expenses…