David Fowler Johnson

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Firm/Organization: Winstead PC
Blogs: Texas Fiduciary Litigator

Latest Articles

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.…
In Estate of Luce, the court of appeals affirmed a trial court’s admitting a will to probate where the decedent did not personally sign it and only communicating his desires by blinking. No. 02-17-00097-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 9341 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth November 15, 2018, no pet. history). The testator was in a serious accident that left him a quadriplegic. A week after he was admitted to the hospital, he was intubated, which rendered him…
In In re Macy Lynne Quintanilla Trust, a settlor created three trusts for his children in 2014. No. 04-17-00753-CV2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 8223 (Tex. App.—San Antonio October 10, 2018, no pet. history). The trust agreements named Perry as trustee and West as trust protector. The trust agreements gave the trust protector the power to remove the trustee and appoint a successor trustee. After the settlor and the trust protector had a falling out, the trust…
In Fletcher v. Whitaker, a brother withdrew $25,000 from a joint bank account while the owner of the funds (decedent) was still alive. No. 02-17-00138-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 8329 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth October 11, 2018, no pet. history). The parties to the joint account were the decedent and his sister in law. The brother was the decedent’s agent under a power-of-attorney document and had the authority to do banking transactions. That relationship also meant…
In Gilmore v. Rotan, a testamentary trust’s beneficiaries sued the trustees in 2015 for making a transfer of trust property in 2003 that was evidenced by a deed filed in 2010. No. 11-16-00253-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 7705 (Tex. App.—Eastland September 20, 2018, no pet. history).  The beneficiaries claimed that the trustees engaged in self-dealing when they transferred the real property. The beneficiaries acknowledged that they each received $76,693.55 from the estate of the primary…
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 alleged unfair distribution of trust assets. No. 05-16-00795-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 6539 (Tex. App.—Dallas August 20, 2018). The trial court granted a summary judgment for the ex-husband and trustee, and the ex-wife appealed. The trustee…
In Cruz v. Ghani, a limited partner sued a general partner over breach of fiduciary duty claims arising from, among other allegations, that the general partner should not have compensated himself from the business in addition to regular distributions. No. 05-17-00566-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 6557 (Tex. App.—Dallas August 20, 2018, no pet. history). The jury found that the general partner failed to comply with his fiduciary duties with respect to the payments made to…
In Graff v. 2920 Park Grove Venture, Ltd., an executor was sued after selling estate real estate because the executor allegedly sold the property for less than fair market value. No. 05-16-01411-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 4266 (Tex. App—Dallas June 13, 2018, no pet. history). Among other claims and arguments, the plaintiff alleged that the executor had no authority to sell the property because the will was silent regarding the authority to sell real property.…
In Pennington v. Fields, the majority of shareholders of a closely held business forced the buy-out of the minority shareholder and litigation ensued. No. 05-17-00321-CV, 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 6601 (Tex. App.—Dallas August 21, 2018, no pet. history). Later, the minority shareholder sued the majority shareholder’s attorney and alleged that he committed legal malpractice by, among other things, negligently advising the majority to engage in oppression and breaches of fiduciary duties and that he failed…
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 court’s judgment against a trustee regarding a beneficiary’s claims for breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, and fraud where the trial court awarded $1,328,448.35 past economic damages, $29,296.75 disgorgement of trust fees, $1,000,000.00 past mental anguish damages, $3,465,490.20 exemplary damages, and $467,374.00 attorney’s fees.…