In Marshall v. Ribosome L.P., a beneficiary of a trust sued a limited partnership of which the trustee was a partner. No. 01-18-00108-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 3787 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] May 9, 2019, no pet. history)....more
I. Introduction Historically, Texas courts could not resort to extrinsic evidence to construe an unambiguous will. San Antonio Area Foundation v. Lang, 35 S.W.3d 636 (Tex. 2000)....more
6/7/2019
/ Beneficiaries ,
Burden of Proof ,
Clerical Errors ,
Community Property ,
Estate Planning ,
Evidence ,
Extrinsic Evidence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Four-Corners Rule ,
Intent ,
Modification ,
Personal Representatives ,
Plain Meaning ,
Reformation ,
Testators ,
Trustees ,
Wills
In Freeman v. Fid. Brokerage Servs., LLC, the mother of the plaintiffs executed a living trust agreement. No 3:18-CV-0947-G, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34694 (N.D. Tex. March 5, 2019)....more
5/13/2019
/ Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Co-Trustees ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Living Trust ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Non-Signatories ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
In Goughnour v. Patterson, a beneficiary sued a trustee based on a failed real estate investment. No. 12-17-00234-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 1665 (Tex. App.—Tyler March 5, 2019, no pet. history). In 2007, the trustee of four...more
5/6/2019
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Dismissals ,
Estoppel ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Self-Dealing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
The OCC recently issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) regarding the scope of activities that are fiduciary in nature, as well as the requirements of non-fiduciary custody activities of national banks,...more
In Milligan v. Salamone, the Greenberg Taurig lawfirm represented the bankrupt company when it sued a president and board member. No. 1:18-CV-327-RP, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41009 (W.D. Tex. March 14, 2019). Greenberg drafted...more
4/22/2019
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Appeals ,
Attorney Malpractice ,
Bankruptcy Court ,
Breach of Duty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Contract Drafting ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Contract ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Professional Negligence ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Reversal ,
Self-Dealing ,
Trustees ,
Vacated
In Bombardier Aero. Corp. v. Spep Aircraft Holdings, a plaintiff who had purchased an aircraft sued the defendant for fraud associated with representations regarding whether the aircraft was new or used. No. 17-0578, 2019...more
4/4/2019
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Damages ,
Duty of Confidentiality ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Punitive Damages ,
Restatement of Torts ,
TX Supreme Court
The normal view of undue influence involves an actor threatening an elderly or infirm person into signing a document that he or she otherwise would not sign. One imagines the actor having control over the person and threating...more
3/21/2019
/ Breach of Duty ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Conspiracy ,
Ethics ,
Exploitation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Institutions ,
Fraud ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Undue Influence Claims
In Liberty Bankers Life Ins. Co. v. Lenhard, a company sued its former chief executive officer and shareholder for breaching fiduciary duties and fraudulent statements regarding an agreement to transfer his stock in the...more
In Herring v. Am. Paper & Janitorial Prods., the plaintiff was a subcontractor who provided janitorial services for a bank and was also a depositor of the bank. No. H-17-3474, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 215765 (S.D. Tex. December...more
In Fielding v. Tullos, an administrator of a decedent’s estate brought claims against the decedent’s housekeeper for undue influence and other related claims arising from the execution of new account beneficiary designations...more
In Thunder Patch II, LLC v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., plaintiffs filed suit against a trustee in state court seeking a declaration regarding the enforceability of a mineral lease, and the trustee removed the case to federal...more
12/31/2018
/ Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Diversity Jurisdiction ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mineral Leases ,
Remand ,
Removal ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
In Fletcher v. Whitaker, a brother withdrew $25,000 from a joint bank account while the owner of the funds (decedent) was still alive. No. 02-17-00138-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 8329 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth October 11, 2018, no...more
In In the Interest of K.K.W., an ex-wife sued an ex-husband and the trustee of a trust that they created for breaches of fiduciary duty and sought to remove the trustee, among other claims, arising out of the trustee’s...more
10/15/2018
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Reversal ,
Standing ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trust Remainder Beneficiaries ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
In Cruz v. Ghani, a limited partner sued a general partner over breach of fiduciary duty claims arising from, among other allegations, that the general partner should not have compensated himself from the business in addition...more
In Samuel D. Orbison & Am. Piping Inspection v. Ma-Tex Rope Co., a jury found that a former employee breached fiduciary duties by working for a competitor while being employed by the plaintiff. No. 06-17-00112-CV, 2018 Tex....more
In Ali v. Smith, a successor administrator of an estate sued the former executor for breach of fiduciary duties arising from his management of the finances of the estate, converting assets of the estate, and using estate...more
In Markl v. Leake, a husband started a long-time extramarital relationship with his girlfriend in 2004. No. 05-17-00174-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 3384 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 14, 2018, no pet. history)....more
In Van Duren v. Chife, the buyers of a home sued the sellers as well as the sellers’ real estate broker and his company regarding water penetration that damaged the home. No. 01-17-00607-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 3494 (Tex....more
In Robins v. Robins, an ex-wife sued her ex-husband for breaching fiduciary duties regarding the sale of their former marital residence. No. 02-16-00285-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 3534 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth May 17, 2018). ...more
This presentation will cover the creation of joint accounts, the ownership of funds in these accounts, Texas Estate’s Code provisions and Texas common law regarding the requirements for effective survivorship language,...more
In In re Westech Capital Corp., a bankruptcy trustee sued a company’s former attorneys for breaching fiduciary duties and also for aiding and abetting the breach of fiduciary duty. No. 16-10300-TMD, 2018 Bankr. LEXIS 969...more
David F. Johnson presented his paper on “Litigation Update, Including Fiduciary Issues” to the Texas Bankers Association’s Legal Conference in Austin, Texas, on April 5, 2018. This presentation covered recent Texas precedent...more
4/23/2018
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Contract ,
Breach of Duty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forum Selection ,
Fraud ,
Negligent Misrepresentation ,
Tortious Interference ,
Venue
In Roberts v. Overby-Seawell Co., an employee sued his former employer for the failure to pay commissions. No. 3:15-CV-1217-L, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47821 (N.D. Tex. March 23, 2018). ...more
In Schmidt v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., the plaintiff’s employee opened credit cards in the employer’s name, used those credit cards for the employee’s own personal use, and paid those credit card bills with funds from the...more