Court Holds That A Judgment Was Not Effective Against Three Estates Where The...
In Delgado v. Garza, the plaintiffs sued for breach of a warranty of title, trespass to try title, and other related claims all stemming from a land transaction between an ancestor of the Salinases and...
View ArticleCourt Addresses A Beneficiary’s Right To Bring Claims Belonging To A Trust
In American Bank, N.A. v. Moorehead Oil & Gas, Inc., plaintiffs (trustees and beneficiaries) filed suit to determine the value of ownership interests in corporate stock under section 10.361 of the...
View ArticleTips for Managing the In-House and Outside Counsel Relationship
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, presented “Tips for Managing the In House and Outside Counsel Relationship” to the Southwest Association of Bank Counsel’s webinar...
View ArticleCourt Discusses Diversity of Citizenship Jurisdiction Where A Trustee Removed...
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...
View ArticleCourt Held That A Power Of Attorney Agent Had Authority To Sue On Behalf Of...
In Cortes v. Wendl, an elderly woman signed a deed conveying her mineral rights to two individuals. No. 06-17-00121-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 4457 (Tex. App.—Texarkana June 20, 2018, no pet.)....By:...
View ArticleCourt Holds That There Was Insufficient Evidence To Establish That Account...
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...
View ArticleCourt Holds That A Bank’s Employees Cannot Conspire To Breach Fiduciary...
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...
View ArticleTexas Supreme Court Held Bank Was Not Liable For Fraudulent Withdrawals From...
In Compass Bank v. Calleja-Ahedo, an identity thief drained the plaintiff’s bank account through a series of fraudulent transactions in 2012 and 2013, and the plaintiff sued his bank to recover the...
View ArticleTexas Supreme Court Holds That A Limitation-Of-Liability Clause Eliminated A...
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...
View ArticleFederal District Court Held That A Shareholder Of A Company Did Not Owe...
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...
View ArticleSaving Your Damages Award Via Temporary Injunctive Relief
One of the most important aspects of protecting a client’s rights is obtaining temporary injunctive relief from a court. This relief usually takes the form of an order precluding a defendant from...
View ArticleSaving Your Damages Award Via Temporary Injunctive Relief (Presentation)
David F. Johnson, leader writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, presented his paper on “Saving Your Damages Award Via Temporary Injunctive Relief” to the State Bar of Texas’s Damages in Civil...
View ArticleCourt Holds That A Will Left A Partial Intestacy
In Sullivan v. Hatchett, a husband executed a will giving his wife a life estate in his property. No. 07-17-00296-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 980 (Tex. App.—Amarillo February 11, 2019, no pet....
View ArticleOrders Denying Arbitration Are Immediately Appealable But Parties Must Wait...
In Fletcher v. Edward Jones Trust Co., a party sued a trust company for inappropriately distributing funds from an account, and the trial court granted the trust company’s motion to compel the dispute...
View ArticleCourt Holds That Testator’s Granddaughter Was A Beneficiary Of The Will
In McDaniel v. Meador, parties sued for declaratory relief regarding whether a granddaughter was a beneficiary of a will. No. 01-18-00041-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 1315 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.]...
View ArticleThe Velvet Hammer: Undue Influence Based On Deceit, Fraud, and Relationship...
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...
View ArticleCourt Holds That A “Gun Trust” Can Hold Other Assets
In Estate of Keener, two heirs of a trust settlor filed an application to declare heirship. No. 13-18-00007-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 1222 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi February 21, 2019, no pet....
View ArticleTexas Supreme Court Holds That A Fraud-By-Nondisclosure Claim Can Apply...
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...
View ArticleTexas Supreme Court Holds That Conspiracy Theories Have the Same Statute Of...
Joint liability for breach of fiduciary duty claims is a rather confusing area of law in Texas. Texas courts have discussed three different theories that allow for joint liability: knowing...
View ArticleThe Texas Supreme Court Holds That The Only Consideration In Probating A Will...
In Ferreira v. Butler, a husband and wife divorced, and the husband married a second wife. No. 17-0901, 2019 Tex. LEXIS 375 (Tex. April 12, 2019). The second wife died, and the husband never probated...
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