Lead writer for the Fiduciary Litigator blog, David F. Johnson, presented “Trust Modifications and Reformations in Texas” at UT Law CLE’s 21st Annual Changes and Trends Affecting Special Needs Trusts Conference. This...more
Louisiana noncompete agreements must comply with a statute—La. R.S. 23:921—to be enforceable. Does this statute also apply to employee nonsolicitation—or “anti-poaching”—agreements? A Louisiana appellate court recently held...more
In Crossley v. Crossley, a plaintiff, who was the beneficiary of, or had the power to designate the beneficiary, in two trusts established by his mother, and he filed suit requesting that the court determine whether he or his...more
Section 415 of the Uniform Trust Code provides that even in the absence of ambiguity the court may reform the terms of a trust to conform the terms to the settlor’s intention if it is proved by clear and convincing evidence...more
It should go without saying that people make mistakes. After all, people are human, and humans make mistakes. When people draft a document, especially a lengthy or complex one, it is not uncommon for a mistake to be...more
The Texas Legislature this year adopted House Bill 1900, which amends the notice requirements for non-renewal and policy changes in Texas Insurance Code Section 551.105. The statutory changes, effective Sept. 1, increase the...more
In the wake of AMG Capital Management v. FTC and Liu v. SEC, uncertainty has loomed as to how courts should measure the consumer redress available to the FTC under Section 19 of the FTC Act. Earlier this month, a court in the...more
Louisiana regulates noncompete agreements by statute. The statute declares that a noncompete is invalid unless the agreement complies with at least one of several exceptions based on the type of relationship. ...more
In Enter. Bank v. The Ingros Fam. LLC, et al., 2022 WL 2283392 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. June 23, 2022), a lender faced a potentially costly decision when it mistakenly left the word “The” from a borrower’s name. In Ingros, First...more
A policy renewal requires a living insured to form a valid insurance contract, the Sixth Circuit recently ruled. In Boby Davis, et al. v. Westfield Ins. Co., Case No. 21-2797 (6th Cir. Mar. 14, 2022), Della Shields received a...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
On July 8, 2021, President Biden announced that he would issue an Executive Order (EO) calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to adopt rules curtailing the use of non-compete agreements. While the announcement offers...more
Reformation of Trust Supported by Presumption that Settlor Would Not Have Intended Construction Resulting in Payments to Government Rather Than Beneficiaries...more
In Odom v. Coleman, a brother and a sister sued each other regarding their father’s estate. No. 01-19-00669-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 9551 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] December 8, 2020, no pet.)....more
The next state in our series exploring non-compete agreements is Texas’ neighbor to the east, Louisiana. As I like to say, when you travel east and cross the Sabine River from Texas to Louisiana all the words change but the...more
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, real estate owners and tenants have faced unprecedented day-to-day operational challenges from the loss of business and income. Two new real estate lawsuits seek to address these issues. ...more
The COVID-19 pandemic altered and disrupted what was considered normal and is thrusting many companies, especially financial institutions, into a new reality where the need for intense digitization is no longer an optional...more
In Yowell v. Granite Operating Co., the Texas Supreme Court reviewed the validity of an interest in a mineral lease regarding the rule against perpetuities (“Rule”). No. 18-0841, 2020 Tex. LEXIS 425 (Tex. May 15, 2020)....more
On December 3, 2019, in Heraeus Medical, LLC v. Zimmer, Inc., the Indiana Supreme Court reaffirmed the “blue pencil doctrine,” likening the doctrine to an eraser and stating that Indiana courts may only delete language from...more
David F. Johnson, lead writer for the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, discusses Texas fiduciary litigation case law and addresses issues such as merger of trusts, Gun Trusts, statute of limitations, quasi-estoppel,...more
The Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal recently held that a noncompetition provision under La. R.S 23:921 affecting a former member of an accounting limited liability company (LLC) could be reformed when the scope of...more
Real Property Update - Lost Note / Standing: differences in initial plaintiff's name in initial complaint and chain of assignments attached to amended complaint cast doubt on plaintiff's standing to enforce lost note and...more
I. Introduction Historically, Texas courts could not resort to extrinsic evidence to construe an unambiguous will. San Antonio Area Foundation v. Lang, 35 S.W.3d 636 (Tex. 2000)....more
The Singapore Ministry of Law and the Supreme Court launched a public consultation on 26 October on proposed reforms to the civil justice system. The proposed reforms are a result of the work of the Civil Justice Commission...more
In a recent Arizona Court of Appeals case, Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Pheasant Grove LLC, 798 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 15 (August 23, 2018), the Court of Appeals addressed the question of what statute of limitations was...more