Regions Bank v. Lowrey, 101 So. 3d 210

Beneficiaries sued Regions on Dec 11, 2007 for breach of fiduciary duty over protection/preservation of the Lowrey Trust assets (timberland) damaged by Hurricane Ivan.
Trust assets consist of approximately 20,000 acres of timberland in Monroe and Conecuh Counties, with extensive prior intra-family litigation and court orders governing trustee duties.
1990 Consent Decree appointed AmSouth Bank as co-trustee and required independent forestry oversight and a timber management plan balancing beneficiaries' interests with the trust’s principal.
1993 Order gave AmSouth/Regions power to retain or sell trust assets (timberland) without strict diversification, provided retention was in the trust’s best interests.
2004 Hurricane Ivan caused substantial timber losses; beneficiaries claimed Regions failed to insure, diversify, or timely harvest to protect the corpus; losses alleged around $13,000,000.
Bench trial occurred June 28–July 2, 2010; Regions requested attorneys’ fees and costs with an evidentiary hearing; March 9–10, 2011 orders denied fees and ruled for Regions on the merits; Regions appealed and beneficiaries cross-appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Breach of fiduciary duty by Regions	Beneficiaries contend Regions breached by mismanagement and failure to diversify or insure.	Regions argues conduct complied with orders and was in the Trust’s best interests; no breach shown.	Affirmed trial court’s verdict; no breach established by Regions.
Attorney fees and costs	Regions should be awarded attorney fees and costs for defending the trust.	Trial court properly denied fees; costs properly taxed against beneficiaries; no reason to award fees.	Reversed denial of attorney fees; remanded for evidentiary hearing on reasonableness of fees; costs to be reassessed on remand.

Hart v. Jackson, 607 So.2d 161 (Ala. 1992) (statutory/contractary basis for attorney-fee recovery)
Farlow v. Adams, 474 So.2d 53 (Ala. 1985) (trustee litigation expenses recoverable when defending trust)
Kiker v. Probate Court of Mobile Cnty., 67 So.3d 865 (Ala. 2010) (remand for fee award when appropriate)
Reed v. Board of Trs. for Alabama State Univ., 778 So.2d 791 (Ala. 2000) (ore tenus review standard for factual findings)
United States Fidelity & Guar. Co. v. Armstrong, 479 So.2d 1164 (Ala. 1985) (ore tenus presumption of correctness with law-applied considerations)
First Alabama Bank of Montgomery, N. A. v. Martin, 425 So.2d 415 (Ala. 1982) (trustee duties and prudent management standard)
Ex parte Board of Zoning Adjustment of Mobile, 636 So.2d 415 (Ala. 1994) (proper application of law to facts standard)
American States Ins. Co. v. Copeland, 534 So.2d 275 (Ala. 1988) (fiduciary duties and standard of review)