In In re Trust A & Trust C, a beneficiary sued a trustee for breach of fiduciary duty and sought a constructive trust over assets that were transferred out of the trust. 690 S.W.3d 80 (Tex. 2024)....more
9/3/2024
/ Asset Transfer ,
Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Constructive Trusts ,
Estate Planning ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Jurisdiction ,
Reversal ,
Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Trusts ,
TX Supreme Court
In In re Estate of Wells, No. 12-23-00066-CV, 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 8475 (Tex. App.—Tyler November 8, 2023, no pet. history). The testator left a will that created a trust for his wife and descendants, named his wife as the...more
In McEndree v. Volke, a beneficiary sued a trustee, her former step father, for breaching fiduciary duties. No. 11-19-00351-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 7856 (Tex. App.—Eastland September 23, 2021, no pet. history). ...more
In Quintanilla v. De La Rosa, a defendant appealed the trial court’s issuance of a temporary injunction enjoining her from withdrawing money from a bank account that belonged to a decedent. No. 13-20-00575-CV, 2021 Tex. App....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 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
In Marshall v. Marshall, a beneficiary sued the original trustee and five co-trustees of two trusts regarding claims that they breached fiduciary duties. No. 14-17-00930-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 1949 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th...more
A business divorce may mean that the owners need to sell the business or the business’s assets. In the following case, some of the owners/officers took advantage of a sale transaction to benefit from that transaction at the...more
3/30/2021
/ Appeals ,
Asset Purchase Agreements ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Assets ,
Business Divorce ,
Corporate Bonuses ,
Corporate Officers ,
Disgorgement ,
Duty to Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forfeiture ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment
In Maxey v. Maxey, in a dispute that arose from the probate of an estate, two sisters mediated and reached a settlement agreement concerning the division of certain real property. No. 01-19-00078-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS...more
In Tomlinson v. Khoury, a judgment creditor discovered that the judgment debtor was the trustee and beneficiary of a spendthrift trust and brought a turnover action to invalidate the trust. No. 01-19-00183-CV, 2020 Tex. App....more
In In re Estate of Hallmark, an executrix of an estate filed suit in probate court for declarations regarding a partnership and sued the other partners. No. 11-18-00187-CV 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 7063 (Tex. App.—Eastland August...more
In In the Interest of M.G.G., an ex-husband was made a constructive trustee of stocks that he held in his retirement account for his ex-wife. No. 05-19-00777-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 6291 (Tex. App.—Dallas August 10, 2020, no...more
In Smith v. Malone, parties litigated the propriety of certain transactions in an estate proceeding before a statutory probate court. No. 01-19-00266-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 4622 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] June 23, 2020,...more
In In the Estate of Mahaffey, a testatrix executed a new will nine days before she died of cancer. No. 04-19-00122-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 11171 (Tex. App.—San Antonio December 27, 2019, no pet. history)....more
2/13/2020
/ Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Burden of Proof ,
Diminished Capacity ,
Estate Planning ,
Probate ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Will Contest ,
Wills
In Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. v. Enter. Prods. Partners, L.P., one pipeline company sued another for breaching a duty of loyalty that allegedly arose out of a partnership to develop a pipeline. No. 17-0862, 2020 Tex....more
2/6/2020
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Formation ,
Condition Precedent ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Energy Sector ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Oil & Gas ,
Partnerships ,
Pipelines ,
Reversal ,
TX Supreme Court
In In re Troy S. Poe Trust, trustees of a trust that was embroiled in litigation filed suit to modify the trust to increase the number of trustees and change the method for trustees to vote on issues. No. 08-18-00074-CV, 2019...more
In Melton v. Waddell, a sister sued her brother for breach of fiduciary duty for misapplying funds in a joint account and not properly allocating revenues from real estate that they owned as tenants in common. No....more
In Shopoff Advisors, LP v. Atrium Circle, GP, the buyer and seller to a real estate transaction sued each other. No. 04-18-00438-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 5764 (Tex. App.—San Antonio July 10, 2019, no pet. history)....more
In In re Estate of Daniels, after the decedent’s death, his wife and his other heirs filed competing applications for independent administration of his estate. No. 06-18-00049-CV, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 2905 (Tex....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 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 her will, which left...more
4/15/2019
/ Appeals ,
Asset Management ,
Beneficiaries ,
Default ,
Dismissals ,
Estate Planning ,
Former Spouse ,
Limitation Periods ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Probate ,
Reversal ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Time-Barred Claims ,
TX Supreme Court ,
Vacated ,
Will Contest ,
Wills
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 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 Texas Business Organizations...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 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