In Dao v. Trinh, a group of five individuals who contributed money for membership in a religious community sued the person who they alleged misapplied their money for the benefit of a different religious community. No....more
In Banister v. Banister, the trial court found that a wife breached her fiduciary duty to the husband, committed fraud on the community estate, and wasted community assets. No. 03-21-00517-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 4063 (Tex....more
In In re Sanchez, a plaintiff filed suit against a defendant for (1) conspiracy; (2) fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud; (3) aiding and abetting/conspiracy; (4) breach of fiduciary duty; and (5) Texas Theft Liability Act...more
David F. Johnson presented to the Tarrant County Probate Bar Association on May 4, 2023, on the topic of “Trust Issues in Divorce Proceedings.” This program discussed some of the many trust issues that arise in divorce...more
5/9/2023
/ Beneficiaries ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Divorce ,
Estate Planning ,
Fraud ,
Marriage ,
Spouses ,
Trust Distributions ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Uniform Trust Code
In In re Mijares, a plaintiff claimed that a defendant defrauded him and breached fiduciary duties owed to him by charging improper, excessive, and unauthorized expenses to their medical practice, causing the...more
8/30/2022
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Business Disputes ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Dischargeable Debts ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Fraud ,
Fraud ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Members ,
Partnerships ,
Shareholder Distributions
In Power v. Power, one brother sued the other brother for breach of fiduciary duty related to their partnership in real estate investing. No. 05-19-01557-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2926 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 3, 2022, no pet....more
It is not uncommon for an attorney to execute all or part of his or her client’s wishes, which may be in breach of a fiduciary duty owed by the client to a third party. The third party can certainly sue the client for...more
In Rotstain v. Trustmark Nat’l Bank, plaintiffs sued banks for assisting Stanford and his entities regarding a Ponzi scheme. No. 3:09-CV-2384-N, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10332 (N.D. Tex. January 20, 2022). ...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
Plaintiffs in civil litigation often seek punitive or exemplary damages. “Exemplary damages” means any damages awarded as a penalty or by way of punishment but not for compensatory purposes....more
1/27/2020
/ Actual Malice ,
Admissible Evidence ,
Breach of Duty ,
Civil Code ,
Confidential Information ,
Damages ,
Discovery ,
Evidence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Gross Negligence ,
High Net-Worth ,
New Legislation ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Punitive Damages ,
Retroactive Application ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Statements of Net Worth ,
TX Supreme Court
In Klinek v. Luxeyard, Inc., a company sued its majority shareholder in a suit for breach of fiduciary duty arising from a pump-and-dump scheme and later settled that claim. No. 14-17-00899-C, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 9421 (Tex....more
12/4/2019
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Conspiracies ,
Disgorgement ,
Fraud ,
Majority Shareholders ,
Pump and Dump ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Third-Party ,
Unjust Enrichment
In CLC Roofing v. Helzer, a roofer purchased shingles from a seller and stored them on the seller’s property. No. 02-17-00229-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 5927 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth July 11, 2019, no pet. history). ...more
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
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 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
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 stolen funds. No. 17-0065,...more
Today, the Texas Supreme Court denied review in Wells Fargo v. Militello, No. 05-15-01252-CV, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 5640 (Tex. App.—Dallas June 20, 2017, pet. denied). In Militello, the court of appeals affirmed a trial...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
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 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Orca Assets G.P., a trustee leased minerals to a leasee. No. 15-0712, 2018 Tex. LEXIS 250 (Tex. March 23, 2018)....more
In Jessen v. Duvall, an investor who established trusts to purchase life insurance policies sued an insurance agent for tort claims, including fraud, conspiracy, and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty based on the...more
In Wakefield v. Bank of Am., N.A., a borrower stopped paying on her mortgage because she felt she was assisting in a fraud. No. 14-16-00580-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 545 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] January 18, 2018, no...more
In Eng v. Kolbe, a mother sued her daughter for abusing a power of attorney document. No. 03-15-00409-CV, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 2680 (Tex. App.—Austin March 30, 2017). The daughter was assisting her aging parents with their...more
Today, the Texas Supreme Court granted a petition for review in Jackson Walker, LLPO v. Kinsel, No. 07-13-00130-CV, 2015 Tex. App. LEXIS 3586 (Tex. App.—Amarillo April 10, 2015, pet. granted). The Court’s staff attorney...more