An October 2024 opinion says that a waste claim is not a reimbursement claim and holds that pleadings are required to recover on a waste claim.
The court in Mohammed v. Mohammed, No. 02-23-00449-CV (Tex. App. – Fort Worth, 10/10/2024)(mem. op.) stated:
From a procedural standpoint, it is axiomatic that The purpose of pleadings is to give an adversary notice of claims and defenses, as well as notice of the relief sought.
The record reveals that there is no pleading alleging a claim for fraud or waste to support the findings of fact or the portions of the final decree ordering reconstitution of the marital estate. The original petition, which was the live pleading at the time of the divorce trial due to the trial court‘s striking Wife’s first amended petition, pleaded only for reimbursement. We conclude that to the extent the trial court ordered the marital estate to be reconstituted based on fraud or waste, such issues were not pleaded and cannot support the judgment.
(citations and footnotes omitted).