A Bank Can Solely Look To Its Account Agreement To Determine The Ownership Of...
In Abbott v. Liberty National Bank, Abbott obtained a money judgment against Scotty Norwood and had a writ of garnishment served on Liberty National Bank, who had an account owned by Scotty’s wife, in...
View ArticleCourt Upheld A Waiver Of Property Code Rights And Affirmed A Deficiency...
In New Millennium Homes, Inc. v. Texas Community Bank, NA, a debtor appealed a summary judgment granted to a lender based on a deficiency claim. No. 09-12-00073-CV, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 1598 (Tex....
View ArticleCourt Reverses The Appointment Of A Receiver Over Trust Property
Courts generally review receiverships very closely, and a party requesting one should follow all required procedures. In Elliott v. Weatherman, parents created an irrevocable living trust and...
View ArticleFormer Owner Cannot Challenge Foreclosure Procedure In Forcible Detainer Action
In McDaniel v. HSBC Bank USA, NA, McDaniel appealed a trial court's granting a bank possession of real property purchased at a foreclosure sale. No. 05-11-00238-CV, 2013 Tex. App. LEXIS 1079 (Tex....
View ArticleLitigating Accounts With Rights of Survivorship in Texas
In this article: - I. Introduction - II. Valid Survivorship Accounts - III. Joint Accounts Between Spouses - IV. Burden Of Proving Enforcable Survivorship Accounts - V. Proving Contents Of Lost Bank...
View ArticleC. Court Did Not Abuse Discretion In Denying Attorney's Fees To Successful...
In Estate of Richardson, a remainder beneficiary of a trust filed a declaratory judgment action to declare that the trust would terminate five years after its creation. No. 14-12-00516-CV, 2013 Tex....
View ArticleCourt Issues Opinion On Home Equity Lending And Agency Determinations
In The Finance Commission of Texas v. Norwood, the Texas Supreme Court determined that an agency's interpretation of legislation was not outside the review of the courts. No. 10-0121, 2013 Tex. LEXIS...
View ArticleSuit To Modify Trusts Did Not Violate No Contest Clause
Texas courts narrowly construe no-contest clauses. In Di Portanova v. Monroe, grandparents set up eight trusts for a grandchild that had a mental disability. No. 01-20-01019-CV, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS...
View ArticleCourt Affirmed Finding Of No Fiduciary Duty Because No Joint Venture Existed
In Stutz Rd. Ltd. P’ship v. Weekley Homes, L.P., plaintiffs sued a defendant for breach of fiduciary duty based on duties owed pursuant to an alleged joint venture. No. 05-12-01752-CV, 2015 Tex. App....
View ArticleExculpatory Clauses In Trust Documents Are “Somewhat” Enforceable In Texas
It is common for settlors to execute trust documents that contain exculpatory clauses. An exculpatory clause is one that forgives the trustee for some action or inaction. For example, a common...
View ArticleCourt Held That A Beneficiary Could Not Usurp A Trustee’s Right To Direct...
In In re XTO Energy Inc., a beneficiary, on behalf of the trust, sued an oil and gas operator for allegedly not paying sufficient funds to the trust and also sued the trustee for refusing to bring that...
View ArticleCourt Affirmed Judgment On Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claim Because Plaintiff...
In Archer v. Allison, a plaintiff sued his daughter and her husband for breaching fiduciary duties and other related causes of action related to their work in certain businesses. No. 07-14-003130CV,...
View ArticleEstate Did Not Own Real Estate Because Court Affirmed Finding Of Inter Vivos...
In the Estate of Wright, the court of appeals affirmed a trial court’s finding of an oral gift of real estate. No. 14-14-00401-CV, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 12644 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] December...
View ArticleCourt Disqualified Attorney Where Attorney Would Testify As Witness
In Matthews v. Stolier, litigation arose regarding several transactions, including a power of attorney document. No. 13-6638, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171752 (D.C. La. December 23, 2015). Some of the...
View ArticleCourt Affirmed Judgment That A Deed By A Trustee Without Specifying The...
In West 17th Res. LLC v. Pawelek, children of a grantor sued the grantees, alleging that the grantor did not convey a trust’s ownership interest in the property because the grantor did not indicate her...
View ArticleCourt Affirmed Summary Judgment For Defendant/Attorney Regarding A Breach Of...
In Macias v. Gomez, a client sued his attorney for breach of fiduciary duty arising from the attorney’s trust later suing the client. No. 13-14-00017-CV, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 12967 (Tex. App.—Corpus...
View ArticleCourt Affirmed Government Seizure Of Trust Asset
In 3607 Tampico Dr. v. State, the government brought a forfeiture proceeding under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 59.02(a) for a house owned by a trust. No. 11-13-00306-CV, 2015 Tex. App....
View ArticleCourt Granted Summary Judgment For A Trustee On A Fiduciary Breach Claim...
In Adams v. Regions Bank, beneficiaries sued a trustee for multiple claims, including breach of fiduciary duty, arising from the trustee’s seizure of collateral owned by the trust. 2016 U.S. Dist....
View ArticleFiduciaries And Beneficiaries Should Be Aware Of Criminal Statutes
There are several criminal statutes that implicate fiduciary activities in Texas that are not well-known: misappropriation of fiduciary property and financial exploitation of the elderly. Though these...
View ArticleEmployers Generally Do Not Owe Fiduciary Duties To Employees
In Espinosa v. Aaron’s Rents, Inc., a former employee sued his former employer for defamation and other torts related to the defendant reporting the plaintiff to the police for alleged theft. No....
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