In 1995, twenty heirs of William Warren Chapman sued the heirs of Richard King and related associates for ownership and mineral rights to 15,500 acres of the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis land grant, part of the present day King Ranch. The lawsuit originated from a land dispute between William Chapman's widow, Helen Blair Chapman, and Richard King. Richard King and William Warren Chapman (Helen Chapman's husband) each owned one-half interest in the Rincon de Santa Gertrudis in Nueces County, Texas (now Kleberg County, Texas). When Chapman died in 1859, he designated his wife Helen as his beneficiary. In 1879, Helen Chapman sued Richard King for her husband's share of the original Rincon de Santa Gertrudis. Helen Chapman resided in South Carolina at the time of the suit and she died while the case was pending; her executors pursued her case.
In 1883, the courts ruled in Helen Chapman's favor and her attorney, Robert Kleberg, reached an agreement to accept payment for one fourth of the Rincon, half of what Helen Chapman originally sued for. Kleberg also served as attorney for Richard King in other unrelated matters. Over the course of the trial, Kleberg was put on an annual retainer by King and became legal advisor for the ranch. Upon Richard King's death, Kleberg became manager of the King Ranch and married Alice King, Richard's youngest daughter.
The 1995 lawsuit claims that Richard King and Robert Kleberg conspired to rob the Chapman family of their ownership rights to the land. In 1998, the trail court granted summary judgement tot he defense who argued that the plaintiffs had insufficient evidence to prove extrinsic fraud. The Chapman lawyers appealed the decision and the Court of Appeals of Texas in Corpus Christi reversed the summary judgement and opened the trial in 2001. In 2003, the attorneys for the King Ranch petitioned the Texas Supreme Court to review the decision, and the Texas Supreme Court reveres the appeal in favor of the King Ranch. The Chapmen lawyers attempted to reopen the case but were rebuked by the Texas Supreme Court in 2003 and the United States Supreme Court in 2004.
From the guide to the Chapman v. King Ranch, Inc. 2005-078., 1831-2004, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
