David Fowler Johnson

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Firm/Organization: Winstead PC
Blogs: Texas Fiduciary Litigator

Latest Articles

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. history). The will then provided: THIRD: In the event [Juanita] should predecease me, or if we should die in or as a result of the same accident or disaster, or if she should not survive until ninety (90) days after my death .…
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 transfer his stock in the company. No. 3:16-CV-2417-N, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19390 (N.D. Tex. February 6, 2019). The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims. Regarding the breach-of-fiduciary-duty claim, the court held that under Texas law, the plaintiff had to first show that…
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 Tex. LEXIS 101 (Tex. February 1, 2019). The purchase agreement stated: “Flexjet will not be liable to either customer for any indirect, special, consequential damages or punitive damages arising out of any lack or loss of use of any aircraft, equipment,…
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, 2018 Tex. LEXIS 1314 (Tex. December 21, 2018). The trial court granted summary judgment for the bank under Section 4.406 of the Business and Commerce Code. The court of appeals reversed and rendered judgment for the plaintiff. 508 S.W.3d…
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 215765 (S.D. Tex. December 24, 2018). After the plaintiff’s representatives were found stealing food after a party, the plaintiff’s contract was terminated. Later, one of the plaintiff’s employees was hired by another company, who was hired to clean the bank’s premises.…
Court Holds That There Was Insufficient Evidence To Establish That Account Beneficiary Designations Were Executed As A Result Of Undue Influence 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 beneficiary designations for certain accounts holding around $1.7 million dollars. No. 09-17-00203-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 7136 (Tex. App.—Beaumont August 30, 2018). The defendant…
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.). When the woman’s nurse and friend learned of the transaction, she obtained a power of attorney and filed a lawsuit on the woman’s behalf, claiming that the mineral deed was executed as a result of duress, coercion, and undue influence, and that no consideration…
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 removed the case to federal court based on diversity of citizenship. No. 5-18-CV-00629-OLG-RBF, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 207696 (W.D. Tex. December 10, 2018). The plaintiff filed a motion to remand and argued that there was not complete diversity because the defendant trustee should…
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 Code. No-13-17-00641-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 9703 (Tex. App—Corpus Christi November 29, 2018, no pet. history). The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendant on two grounds: the statute of limitations and standing. The plaintiffs appealed. The court of appeals…
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 an ancestor of the Garzas. No. 13-15-00344-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 9619 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi November 27, 2018, no pet. history). After a bench trial, the court signed a judgment in favor of the Garzas on all causes of action.…