A bid for guardianship of Texans owner Janice McNair has been dropped by her son.
Robert
Cary McNair Jr. had filed an application for guardianship of his mother
last November while alleging that her mental capacity had been
diminished by a stroke. The decision to drop the case comes a couple of
weeks after a judge in Houston denied McNair's request to have his mother undergo a medical exam by an independent physician.
Texans CEO Cal McNair sided with his mother in trying to block both the exam and the guardianship application.
“Mr. Cal McNair is delighted
that the frivolous lawsuit against his mother, Janice McNair, was
dismissed today,” Cal McNair's attorney Paul Dobrowski said in a
statement, via the Houston Chronicle. “He is relieved that she
will not be burdened by an unnecessary medical examination nor placed
under a repressive guardianship that would restrict her rights. She will
continue to be actively involved as Founder and Senior Chairperson of
the Houston Texans.”
Janice
McNair co-founded the Texans with her late husband and became the
team's principal owner upon Bob McNair's death in 2018.
HOUSTON -- A lawsuit filed by one of the sons of the owner of the Houston Texans that had sought to have her declared incapacitated and have a guardian appointed for her was dropped Monday.
Robert
Cary McNair Jr. had filed his application for appointment of a guardian
for Janice McNair, 87, in November with a probate court in Harris
County, where Houston is located.
But on Monday, lawyers for Cary
McNair, along with others involved in the case, filed a motion in which
they agreed to jointly drop the lawsuit.
News of the end of the case was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
Jeremy Fielding, an attorney for Cary McNair, told the newspaper the
family made the joint decision to address these issues privately.
Fielding
said Cary McNair is concerned about his mother's health and that he
filed the lawsuit to protect her and not to "control her estate, as his
brother Cal has incorrectly suggested."
Attorneys for Janice
McNair and her son Cal McNair, who is chairman and CEO of the Texans,
had previously pushed back on Cary McNair's claims that the elder McNair
was incapacitated or needed a guardian to control her personal,
financial and medical decisions. Janice McNair became the principal
owner of the Texans after her husband, Robert "Bob" McNair, died in 2018.
"Cal
McNair is delighted that the frivolous lawsuit against his mother,
Janice McNair, was dismissed today," Paul Dobrowski, Cal McNair's
attorney, said in a statement. "He is relieved that she will not be
burdened by an unnecessary medical examination nor placed under a
repressive guardianship that would restrict her rights. She will
continue to be actively involved as founder and senior chairperson of
the Houston Texans."
The decision to end the lawsuit came after Judge Jerry Simoneaux
ruled earlier this month that Janice McNair would not have to undergo an
independent exam to evaluate her mental capacity. Cary McNair's
attorneys had asked for the exam, arguing in court that her abilities to
conduct business had been affected by a stroke she had in January 2022.
Details
of what had prompted the guardianship effort had mostly remained
private after some records in the lawsuit were previously ordered sealed
by Simoneaux.
A Houston judge ruled in favor
of Texans owner Janice McNair on Tuesday, denying her oldest son's
request for an independent medical exam to determine her mental
capacity, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Robert
Cary McNair Jr. is seeking guardianship, with his attorneys arguing
that a stroke in January 2022 left Janice McNair mentally incapacitated
with limited ability to conduct business.
Cal McNair, her other
son who is CEO and chair of the Texans, and Janice McNair’s attorneys
argued the 87-year-old widow of Bob McNair already has undergone
examinations by two doctors.
“On
behalf of Mrs. McNair, and everyone who opposed the motion, we are
pleased with Judge [Jerry] Simoneaux’s order denying Cary McNair’s
motion for an independent medical examination of Mrs. McNair,” Don
Jackson, the attorney for Janice McNair, told the newspaper. “We want to
thank Judge Simoneaux and his staff for their diligent efforts.”
Janice McNair's attorneys are expected to ask Simoneaux to dismiss the probate case.
Cary McNair's attorneys originally filed the application for guardianship on Nov. 27.
Robert
Cary McNair Jr. listens during a hearing about a Janice McNair
guardianship request Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in probate court at the
Harris County Civil Courthouse in Houston. Robert, who goes by Cary, is a
son of Janice McNair and the late Bob McNair. On Nov. 27 he submitted
an application of guardianship of an adult person and estate, according
to court records. His 87-year-old mother is opposing the application, as
is Cal McNair her son who serves as the chairman and CEO of the Houston
Texans.Jon Shapley/Staff photographer
Cary McNair, 64, who is seeking a guardianship be appointed over her, testified the Palmetto Trust Company board later removed her as a trustee and that her cognitive decline continued.
Janice
McNair, 87, who is fighting the guardianship, was not present for the
bench hearing over whether she would be ordered to undergo an
independent medical examination. Her son has requested the third-party
examination because he believes two prior exams were not independent.
The hearing is expected to continue Monday.
Cary
McNair’s testimony in Harris County probate court heralded waves of
objection as dozens of attorneys for family stakeholders protested the
questioning by his lawyer, Jeremy Fielding, for skirting close to
disclosing personal medical records and coveted business minutiae. A
lawyer for the NFL team expressed their “vested interest” in the
proceedings and worried about the range of information that could be
disclosed.
Judge
Jerry Simoneaux said disclosures of “embarrassing facts” are part of
the guardianship process. Some details that fall under the Texas Uniform
Trade Secrets Act could be discussed in a closed courtroom setting, he
said.
Judge
Jerry Simoneaux accepts a document from Paul Dobrowski during a hearing
about a Janice McNair guardianship request Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in
probate court at the Harris County Civil Courthouse in Houston.Jon Shapley/Staff photographer
The
son contends Janice McNair began having “progressive memory problems”
after the 2018 death of his father but that her cognitive health
declined after the stroke that left her partially paralyzed.
A
lawyer for his brother, Cal McNair, 63, the Texans’ CEO since 2019,
voiced the bulk of the objections as the hearing stretched on for most
of the day. The sibling has protested the guardianship attempt,
contending their mother does not have any significant mental health
problems.
The
judge filtered out most of Fielding’s proposed evidence, including
records containing the board’s minutes, and tried steering his questions
toward determining whether the McNair matriarch needs another medical
examination.
During
his testimony, Cary McNair cited an instance where she was unable to
remember the names of his children. She also made unsound decisions, the
son alleged.
She
sold the family ranch to his brother, Cal, at a lower value than the
property’s worth to the surprise to several family members. Cary McNair
confronted her. She said she wanted her children treated equally but the
sale showed otherwise, he testified.
“It was an important asset to family,” he said. “We were livid.”
He
made clear during the last Thanksgiving holiday that he planned to have
her undergo an exam to her objection. He sought the guardianship days
later.
“I’d be having the same conversation with my father if he was here,” he testified.
Cal
McNair’s lawyer, Paul Dobrowski, defended Janice McNair’s decision to
refuse the exams. The court’s suggestion that he appoint an outside
doctor was also rebuffed.
“She wants to be left alone and, in her advanced years, enjoy life,” Dobrowski said. “Instead she’s got her son at her door.”
Paul
Dobrowski, who represents Cal McNair, listens during a hearing about a
Janice McNair guardianship request Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in probate
court at the Harris County Civil Courthouse in Houston. Robert Cary
McNair Jr., a son of Janice McNair and the late Bob McNair, on Nov. 27
submitted an application of guardianship of an adult person and estate,
according to court records. Janice McNair, 87, is opposing the
application, as is Cal McNair, her son who serves as the chairman and
CEO of the Houston Texans.Jon Shapley/Staff photographer
Both
sides questioned Dr. Chris Merkl, a Houston physician with expertise in
geriatric psychiatry whom Janice McNair hired and allowed to interview
her for about a half hour at her home. During the interview, Janice
McNair said several family members had raised questions about her mental
capacity.
Merkl found no sign of cognitive issues during the interview, he testified.
“She was witty and interesting and extremely gracious,” Merkl said.
Fielding argued that Merkl’s exam was not independent and that another review was needed.
Dr. James Pool, Janice McNair’s longtime physician, also testified that he did not believe her to be incapacitated.
Janice
McNair discussed the guardianship proceedings during a recent meeting
with her doctor. She simply said, “I’m sad,” and did not elaborate, Pool
testified.
“It’s
enough for a great Southern lady to express an emotion that’s adverse
in her life,” Pool said in court. “It’s not my place to begin to dwell
on that subject with her.”
Jeremy
Fielding, who represents Robert Cary McNair Jr., listens to an
objection during a hearing about a Janice McNair guardianship request
Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in probate court at the Harris County Civil
Courthouse in Houston. Fielding represents Robert, who goes by Cary.Jon Shapley/Staff photographer
