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Richard A. Van Auken, as Trustee and Beneficiary v. Fletcher R. Catron, et al.

Paid petition · Court of Appeals of New Mexico, No. A-1-CA-35704 · judgment September 11, 2019


Certiorari denied · October 5, 2020
Pre-decision estimate: 0% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Question presented

Whether, after eighteen years of litigation and multiple requests for a final judicial determination of langauge in a six-page express trust contract, the refusal of New Mexico State Courts to provide such a final determination of trust contract meaning and effect, a fact central to proving claims of fraudulent and deceitful taking of family property held in trust, represents judicial denial of due process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Richard A. Van Auken

For respondent

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Proceedings

  1. Dec 07 2020
    Rehearing DENIED.
  2. Nov 10 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 12/4/2020.
  3. Oct 30 2020
    Petition for Rehearing filed.
  4. Oct 05 2020
    Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by The Center for Estate Administration Reform, et al. GRANTED.
  5. Oct 05 2020
    Petition DENIED.
  6. Jul 22 2020
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2020.
  7. Jul 06 2020
    Motion for leave to file amici brief filed by The Center for Estate Administration Reform, et al.
  8. Jun 01 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due July 6, 2020)