In Re Puig, 351 S.W.3d 301

Puig Bros. owned a Webb County ranch; Luis F. Puig, Jr. and six children owned Puig Bros. shares.
Alicia Prieto Puig (Luis's former wife) was awarded 60% of the ranch in a 2003 divorce after Puig Bros. was treated as Luis's alter ego.
Alicia died, naming her daughter Alice Puig as independent administratrix of her estate, with letters of administration issued in Fort Bend County (no statutory probate court there).
Alice sought probate of Alicia's will and repeatedly urged her father to execute deeds transferring partial ownership to Alicia's estate; he refused.
The Harbour Deed, executed by a court-appointed attorney-in-fact in Fort Bend, purported to transfer 60% ownership of the ranch to Alicia and was recorded in Webb County.
Real parties filed a Webb County district court suit seeking to void Harbour Deed, quiet title, and determine ownership; Fort Bend County court at law claimed jurisdiction over estate matters.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Fort Bend statutory county court has dominant jurisdiction over matters appertaining to Alicia's estate	Puig argues district court should lack exclusive jurisdiction; estate matters remain in Fort Bend.	Puig Bros. contends district court should determine ownership; appellate review is appropriate where dominant jurisdiction is in play.	Fort Bend county court had dominant jurisdiction over estate matters.
Whether relators should have filed a plea in abatement instead of a plea to the jurisdiction	Relators contend plea to jurisdiction is proper given dominant jurisdiction by Fort Bend; district court denied improperly.	Dominant jurisdiction was properly established in Fort Bend; plea to jurisdiction was appropriate to challenge subject-matter allocation.	Relators should have filed a plea in abatement; district court's denial was not an abuse of discretion, so mandamus denied.

Wyatt v. Shaw Plumbing Co., 760 S.W.2d 245 (Tex. 1988) (dominant jurisdiction when two courts may hear the case)
Curtis v. Gibbs, 511 S.W.2d 263 (Tex. 1974) (initial placement of dominant jurisdiction by first filing court)
Bailey v. Cherokee Cnty. Appraisal Dist., 862 S.W.2d 581 (Tex. 1993) (first-filed court acquires dominant jurisdiction to the exclusion of coordinate courts)
Mower v. Boyer, 811 S.W.2d 560 (Tex. 1991) (plea in abatement used to alert other court to dominant jurisdiction)
Abor v. Black, 695 S.W.2d 564 (Tex. 1985) (mandamus relief limited to orders actively interfering with jurisdiction)
Perry v. Del Rio, 66 S.W.3d 239 (Tex. 2001) (mandamus relief to direct actions affecting jurisdiction)
Pugh v. Turner, 197 S.W.2d 822 (Tex. 1946) (estate administration can affect related interrelated claims)
In re SWEPI, L.P., 85 S.W.3d 800 (Tex. 2002) (controlling issue test for matters appertaining to an estate)
Palmer v. Coble Wall Trust Co., 851 S.W.2d 178 (Tex. 1992) (controlling issue test applied to appertaining matters)
Hailey v. Siglar, 194 S.W.3d 74 (Tex.App.-Texarkana 2006) (application of dominion over estate-related matters in appellate context)
Howe State Bank v. Crookham, 873 S.W.2d 745 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1994) (estate-related jurisdictional considerations in appellate review)
Speer v. Stover, 685 S.W.2d 22 (Tex. 1985) (pleas to jurisdiction as alerting of jurisdictional issues)