Physician opposes dismissal of lawsuit against probate judge involving her elderly mom's guardianship

By David Yates

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HOUSTON - A pediatrician has filed a brief in opposition to a federal magistrate’s recommendation to dismiss her lawsuit against a state judge alleging racketeering and estate trafficking of her 91-year-old mother who died under court-appointed guardianship.

Among Dr. Sheila Owens Collins’ objections to Southern District Magistrate Peter Bray’s June 17 Report and Recommendation is his depiction of her allegations as perceived wrongdoings, according to a press release.

“These wrongdoings were proven with exhibits in previous pleadings,” wrote Owens Collins in her July 1 reply in opposition. “These wrongdoings are not perceived. They are grossly negligent actions or non-actions that occurred in actuality.”

As previously reported in the SE Texas Record, Owens Collins sued Harris County Probate Judge Michael Newman, individually and in his official capacity, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Oct. 22, 2020, after her mother, Mrs. Hattie Owens died under court supervision in 2019.

“The Magistrate Judge Peter Bray erred in his innuendo that the court investigators and Adult Protective Services found Mrs. Owens to be incapacitated,” Owens Collins brief in opposition stated. “If the records are carefully reviewed and honestly reported, this honorable court will find that they found Mrs. Owens to be lucent, aware of what was happening to her, adamantly opposed to being guardianized and fervently advocating for her eldest daughter [Dr. Sheila Owens Collins] to continue providing for her.”

Owens Collins further alleges that Judge Newman abused his discretion in awarding fees to appointees and allowing opposing lawyers to make inflammatory, defamatory, and uncivil comments about her in open court.

But Judge Bray rebutted in his June 17 Report and Recommendation to the court that the complained-of actions are judicial in nature.

“Nothing in Owens Collins’ complaint can be construed as a judicial action taken in the complete absence of jurisdiction,” Bray stated. “Judicial immunity applies to all claims.”

However, according to Section 1201.003 of the Texas Estates Code, a judge is liable on their bond to those damaged if damage or loss results to a guardianship or ward because of the gross neglect of a judge.

“This immunity waiver permits recovery for losses directly tied to the judge’s duties, including the use of reasonable diligence to determine whether an appointed guardian performed the required duties,” Owens Collins’ reply states. “This language does not limit recovery to the guardian or the ward but makes the judge liable to anyone damaged by the judge’s harm to the ward.”

The term ‘ward’ is used legally to reference an individual who has been placed under court supervision, such as pop star Britney Spears.

“Judge Newman’s gross neglect and breach of duty of care resulted in the following losses and damages to the guardianship and Mrs. Hattie Owens: the unnecessary depletion of the estate of Mrs. Hattie Owens by $93,000,” Owens Collins wrote.

Judge Newman, a Democrat, has been the sitting judge in Court No. 2 of Harris County Probate Court in Houston since January 1, 2019. Unless re-elected, his term will end in 2022.

After graduating from Prairieview A&M University, Mrs. Hattie Owens and her husband Emiel Owens, who is also deceased, amassed a modest fortune that included two student housing properties in Prairie View, Texas, a 5,000 square foot home in Houston's medical center worth half a million dollars, two Mercedes Benz vehicles, and a Porsche.

U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes, nominated to the federal bench by former President Ronald Reagan, is set to decide the case. 

The physician plaintiff further stated in her brief that Harris County officials were not immediately forthcoming in providing her with a copy of Judge Newman's bond.

"Owens Collins has made several attempts to obtain a copy of Judge Newman's bond and in the process has been sent on a wild goose chase," the brief in opposition states. "She was advised to order the bond online at the Harris County Clerk website however there is no form allowing for litigants to order a copy of a judge's bond through the website."

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Physician opposes dismissal of lawsuit against probate judge involving her elderly mom's guardianship

 

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Federal judge to rule on daughter's racketeering, trafficking suit against Houston judge

 

Federal judge to rule on daughter's racketeering, trafficking suit against Houston judge

By David Yates

HOUSTON - A federal judge is set to rule on whether to dismiss a physician’s lawsuit against a Harris County probate judge who allegedly turned a blind eye to the estate trafficking and elder abuse of her 91-year-old mother who was under a court-appointed guardianship when she died, a press release states.

Owens-Collins v. The Honorable Judge Michael Newman is currently pending before U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes and Magistrate Peter Bray in the Southern District of Texas in Houston.

Dr. Sheila Owens Collins, a pediatrician, sued Harris County Probate Judge Michael Newman last year alleging he violated her mother Mrs. Hattie Owens’ rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Although Judge Newman employs the defense of judicial immunity in an attempt to absolve himself of the estate trafficking and racketeering that occurred under his purview, gross negligence is at play," Owens Collins wrote in her March 11 response in opposition to Judge Newman’s Motion to Dismiss. "Section 1201.003 of the Texas Estates Code specifically states that a judge is liable on a Judge's bond to those damaged if damage or loss results to a guardianship or ward because of the gross neglect of the judge.” 

As previously reported in the Southeast Texas Record, Judge Newman disputed the allegations of estate trafficking and racketeering while invoking the doctrine of judicial immunity. But Owens Collins alleges in her reply opposing dismissal that when the defendant judge repeatedly funneled money out of Mrs. Hattie Owens’ estate and into the pockets of probate court insiders and the coffers of the Court, he committed gross negligence in handling the guardianship and assets of Mrs. Hattie Owens.

“Judge Newman’s gross neglect and breach of duty of care resulted in the unnecessary depletion of the estate of Hattie Owens by $93,000.00,” Owens Collins stated.

After graduating from Prairieview A&M University, Mrs. Hattie Owens and her husband Emiel Owens amassed a modest fortune that included two student housing properties in Prairie View, Texas, a 5,000 square foot home in Houston's medical center worth half a million dollars, two Mercedes Benz vehicles, and a Porsche, according to a press release.

“The temporary guardian, Dana Drexler, requested fees of $53,468.00,” said Owens-Collins in her pleading. “An expert witness noted that Drexler billed either $350 or $100 per hour for a minimum of 15 minutes regardless of the actual time required for a task. The expert witness testified to each and every page of the 36 pages of records and identified charges that were not reasonable or necessary.”

Mrs. Hattie Owens became a ward of the state under guardianship after her granddaughter, Aisha Ross, allegedly made a false report with Adult Protective Services against Owens Collins who was her mother's power of attorney at the time.

“The volume of guardianship proceedings in Harris County not only supports specialized probate courts, but it also supports counsel with practices that derive significant funds from court appointments in various roles in guardianship proceedings,” Owens Collins stated. “This case illustrates the failure of judicial supervision to ensure that counsel fulfill their statutory duties, including diligently investigating and seeking to carry out a client’s desire to avoid guardianship.”

The physician plaintiff isn’t the only American disputing a high-profile court-appointed guardianship. Popstar Britney Spears’ conservatorship was the subject of a New York Times documentary expose, which lead GOP Congressmen Jim Jordan of Ohio and Matt Gaetz of Florida to request a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee to review and examine the plight of those trapped unjustly in conservatorships, which are also known as guardianships.

“If the conservatorship process can rip the agency from a woman who was in the prime of her life and one of the most powerful pop stars in the world, imagine what it can do to people who are less powerful and have less of a voice,” Congressman Gaetz said in a statement online.

Once appointed by a Judge, a guardian of an adult or senior citizen, such as Britney Spears or Mrs. Hattie Owens, is empowered to liquidate their assets, sedate the individual with physician-prescribed psychotropic medication, to deny choice of food, marital status, health insurance, medical care and even ban visits with friends and family members.

“Mrs. Hattie Owens was forced into hospice,” Owens Collins states. “Her early death was preventable. Dr. Owens Collins blames the court, the judge, the guardian, and the guardian's attorney who conspired and colluded in actions that caused the loss of life for Mrs. Hattie Owens and the loss of a mother for Dr. Sheila Owens-Collins.”

Full Article & Source:

Federal judge to rule on daughter's racketeering, trafficking suit against Houston judge

 

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Federal judge to rule on doctor lawsuit against Adult Protective Services over guardianized elderly mom 

 

Houston probate judge sued for estate trafficking, racketeering and abuse of 91-year-old

Houston probate judge sued for estate trafficking, racketeering and abuse of 91-year-old

By David Yates

HOUSTON - The Honorable Judge Michael Newman turned a blind eye to the alleged estate trafficking and elder abuse of a 91-year-old woman who was under a court-appointed guardianship when she died, according to an amended complaint submitted by her physician daughter.

“The temporary guardian [Dana Drexler] stated publicly that her goal was not to return Hattie Owens to her home as promised but to put her in a nursing facility and sell her house with attached attorney fees,” stated Dr. Sheila Owens Collins in her revised Feb. 5 lawsuit. “Judge Newman aided and abetted this scheme by approval of excessive fees and fees that were for personal use by the temporary guardian.”

As previously reported, Owens Collins named Harris County Probate Judge Michael Newman in her complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas, alleging he violated her mother, Hattie Owens’ rights under the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Judge Newman refused to allow testimony on the specific lack of performance of job responsibility that was attached to the contest of the fee schedule,” Owens Collins wrote in her complaint. “He expressed a greater interest in protecting Associate Judge that presided at the start of the guardianship proceeding, which severely hampered mounting a sufficient argument that the fees should not be paid.”

The physician executive daughter further accuses the Honorable Judge Michael Newman of recklessly awarding without justification some $90,000 to the court-appointed guardian and attorneys who allegedly looted her mother’s estate with excessive legal fees.

“The defendant recklessly approved all of the fees and closed the guardianship without giving notice to the plaintiff, leaving unsettled bills and without providing findings of fact and conclusion despite two requests, which decreases the transparency and trust in the judicial system by the lay community that it supposes to serve,” Owens Collins stated.

Among the causes of action are violations of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which includes abuse of the vulnerable, and violations of Canon 1 and 2 of the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct upholding the integrity and independence of the judiciary and avoiding impropriety.

“There was important evidence [the Defendant did] not allow to be presented,” Owens Collins alleges. “Dana Drexler was the most toxic and sociopathic of the appointed attorneys. There was a conflict of interest as [Drexler] is a former board member of Adult Protective Services, which was investigating the plaintiff for false allegations made by her niece, Aisha Ross.”

The Texas physician isn’t the first to sue over the court-appointed guardianship of an elderly or disabled individual. Other plaintiffs in Texas as well as plaintiffs in Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, California, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio have increasingly cried afoul in recent years. In response, U.S. Representatives Darren Soto, Charlie Crist, and Gus Bilirakis of Florida as well as Debbie Dingell of Michigan introduced HR 4174 in 2019 to assist states in guardianship oversight but the bill was not enacted into law.

“Mrs. Hattie Owens was the victim of elder trafficking perpetrated by stakeholders in the Harris County guardianship and probate court system,” Owens Collins wrote.

The plaintiff seeks punitive damages, costs of the suit, and interest on costs of the suit as well as a judgment in her favor on all the causes of action in the suit.

“Attempts to promote good health and well-being by the plaintiff for her mother were communicated to the tribunal as interference and evidence of unsuitability,” Owens Collins said. “As a guardian, the extent that Dana Drexler went to paint this false narrative is nothing short of pathological.”

Litigation is currently pending with Magistrate Peter Bray and U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan.

Full Article & Source:

Houston probate judge sued for estate trafficking, racketeering and abuse of 91-year-old