An action for trespass to try title is "the method for determining title to lands, tenements, or other real property and the exclusive remedy for resolving competing claims to property." Parker v. Hunegnaw, 364 S.W.3d 398, 401 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, no pet.) (citing Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 22.001). To succeed, a plaintiff must establish the superiority of his title and cannot prevail merely on the weakness of the defendant's title. Martin v. Amerman, 133 S.W.3d 262, 265 (Tex. 2004). Because Plaintiffs have alleged a valid claim for wrongful foreclosure, fraud, and promissory estoppel, each of which substantiate a superior claim to title (taking all of Plaintiffs' allegations as true), and request return of title as one form of relief, the district court erred in dismissing Plaintiffs' action for trespass to try title.
SOURCE: FIFTH CIRCUIT: Guajardo v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, NA, Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit Jan 12, 2015
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