David F. Johnson presented his paper “Litigating Self-Interested Transactions Involving Fiduciaries” to the State Bar of Texas’s Fiduciary Litigation Course on December 2-3, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas. This presentation...more
David F. Johnson presented “Trust Issues In Divorce Proceedings” on November 17, 2021. This presentation covered trust issues that arise in divorce disputes, such as spouses creating an irrevocable trust, fraud claims to void...more
11/22/2021
/ Beneficiaries ,
Conflict Resolution ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Family Trusts ,
Irrevocable Trusts ,
Revocable Trusts ,
Spouses ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
David F. Johnson presented “Trustee’s Obligation to Inform Beneficiaries: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims” to a national audience on November 16, 2021, via Strafford publishing with his co-presenter Scott E. Rahn,...more
In In re Estate of Clark, a trial court entered an order allowing a family allowance for the decedent’s wife. No. 02-20-00211-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5685 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth July 15, 2021, no pet. history)....more
In In the Estate of Johnson, an applicant to be an independent administrator appealed a court’s decision to not appoint him due to his being unsuitable. No. 02-20-00133-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7138 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth...more
11/19/2021
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Estate Planning ,
Executors ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fitness for Particular Purpose ,
Power of Attorney ,
Probate ,
Probate Courts ,
Residual Clause ,
Standard of Review ,
Trustees ,
Wills
David F. Johnson presented his paper “Is There a Trustee Get Out of Jail Free Card? The Use of Exculpatory Clauses in Trust Documents in Texas” to the Dallas Bar Association Probate, Trusts, and Estates Section on October 26,...more
In Moore v. Estate of Moore, a decedent’s wife claimed that she had an interest in an oil and gas lease formerly owned by her deceased husband. No. 07-20-00019-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 6142 (Tex. App.—Amarillo July 30, 2021,...more
10/25/2021
/ Attorney-in-Fact ,
Beneficiaries ,
Estate Planning ,
Life Estates ,
Mineral Leases ,
Power of Attorney ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Spouses ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Trust Remainder Beneficiaries ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wills
In Peek v. Mayfield, a beneficiary sued a trustee for breach of fiduciary duty. No. 02-20-00107-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 6080 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth July 29, 2021, no pet.). ...more
David Johnson presented his paper entitled “Fiduciary Litigation Update 2020-2021” to the Texas Bankers Association’s Wealth Management & Trust Conference on September 30, 2021. This presentation covered recent statutory...more
10/12/2021
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Beneficiaries ,
Estate Planning ,
Exculpatory Clauses ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injunctions ,
Reformation ,
Rule Against Perpetuities ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Settlement ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Wealth Management
David F. Johnson presented his paper “Practical Issues Concerning Power of Attorney Transactions” to the Annual Legal Conference 2021 hosted by the Texas Bankers Association and the Southwest Association of Bank Counsel on...more
In In the Interest of Riley Family Revocable Trust, a trustee filed suit for a declaration regarding who takes in the distribution of remaining trust property. No. 13-20-00084-CV 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5839 (Tex. App.—Corpus...more
In Hotze v. In Mgmt., LLC, family members sued each other over control of a family business. No. 14-18-00995-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5821 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] July 22, 2021, no pet. history). Three of the brothers...more
The owners of a corporation may enter into shareholder agreements that address and resolve many disputes. For example, the Texas Supreme Court noted: “Shareholders of closely-held corporations may address and resolve such...more
In Novedea Sys. v. Colaberry, Inc., co-founders of a business discussed terms of a buy-out, but ended up in litigation. No. 6:20-cv-00180-JDK, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 152372 (E. D. Tex. August 13, 2021). ...more
Trust beneficiaries often request a corporate trustee to prepare a statutory accounting. The Texas Trust Code in Section 113.151 provides that a beneficiary may request a written statement of accounts....more
Parties often add limitation-of-liability clauses to their agreements. These types of clauses can purport to limit a party’s claims or damages or both. ...more
David F. Johnson presented his paper “Business Divorce: Minority Shareholder Rights In Texas” to the State Bar of Texas’s Business Disputes Course on September 2-3, 2021. This presentation addressed shareholder oppression...more
9/8/2021
/ Board of Directors ,
Business Disputes ,
Business Divorce ,
Business Litigation ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Officers ,
Derivative Suit ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Good Faith ,
Legal Representatives ,
Majority Shareholders ,
Minority Shareholders ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholder Oppression ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Shareholders
In JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Campbell, a member of a limited partnership sued other partners, including a trustee of a trust, to dissolve the partnership. No. 09-20-00161-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5001 (Tex. App.—Beaumont...more
8/30/2021
/ Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Corporate Dissolution ,
Estate Planning ,
Limited Partnerships ,
Liquidation ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Reversal ,
Specific Jurisdiction ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
The owners of a corporation may enter into shareholder agreements. In Richie, the Texas Supreme Court stated: “Shareholders of closely-held corporations may address and resolve such difficulties by entering into shareholder...more
In Lawrence v. Bailey, a son killed his parents with a sledge hammer. No. 01-19-00799-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 4716 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] June 15, 2021, no pet. history)....more
In Bird v. Carl C. Anderson, a trust beneficiary sued a defendant for usurping a trustee’s role and breaching fiduciary duties as a de facto trustee. No. 03-21-00140-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 5036 (Tex. App.—Austin June 24,...more
David F. Johnson presented “Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Trustees/Managers of Closely-Held Businesses” with Kenneth J. Fair of Wright Close & Barger, LLP, on July 22, 2021, for Strafford Webinars to a national...more
In Trinh v. Cent. River Healthcare Group, a brother sued his sister over the management of a PLLC. No. 03-19-00393-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 4542 (Tex. App.—Austin June 9, 2021, no pet. history). The brother claimed that the...more
David Johnson presented his paper “The More The Merrier? Issues Arising From Co-Trustees Administering Trusts” to the State Bar of Texas’s Advanced Estate Planning and Probate Course on June 9, 2021. This presentation...more
In Austin v. Mitchell, a wife filed suit alleging her ex-husband fraudulently transferred a portion of his limited partnership interest in a family limited partnership to a trust for the benefit of his children. No....more