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In Ahmed v. Bank of Whittier, a party sued a bank for aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty by assisting the plaintiff’s attorney in improperly depositing settlement funds. No. 05-21-00058-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2987 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 4, 2022, no pet. history). The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendant, and the plaintiff appealed. The court of appeals first implied that there was no aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty claim under Texas law citing to an earlier opinion: Hill v. Keliher, No. 05-20-00644-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 502, 2022 WL 213978, at *10 (Tex. App.—Dallas Jan. 25, 2022, pet. filed).
Continue Reading Court Affirmed Summary Judgment For Bank On Non-Customer’s Aiding And Abetting Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claim

In Dillon v. King, one sister contested their father’s will and codicil and also asserted other claims against her sister. No. 05-20-00215-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2991 (Tex. App.—Dallas May 4, 2022, no pet. history). In 2010, the father executed a will leaving everything equally to his two daughters. Thereafter, he moved to Texas to be near the contestant. The contestant then accessed the father’s bank account. The father told Texas Adult Protective Services that he allowed her to use the account but that she no longer had access to it. Later, the father signed a new codicil, leaving everything to the applicant. After a bench trial, the trial judge admitted the will and codicil to probate and ordered the contestant to take nothing on her other claims. On appeal, the appellate court discussed many different issues.
Continue Reading Court Affirmed Admitting A Codicil To Probate As The Testator Had Mental Capacity And Was Not Unduly Influenced And Discussed Expert Testimony Issues

In Ahlgren v. Ahlgren, the plaintiff asserted that the defendant breached fiduciary duties by taking assets held in trust for the plaintiff’s father. No. 13-22-00029-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2843 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi April 25, 2022, no pet. history). The jury found for the plaintiff and awarded him fifty percent of certain assets. “It found that the value of Nim’s share of the assets at the time of Paco’s breach was as follows: (1) $9,074,390 4 in Bitcoin; (2) $1,900,000 for the Park City property; and (3) $375,000 for the Austin property. The jury was not asked to value Nim’s interest in gold. Finally, the jury found that Paco earned a $29,329,378 profit resulting from his breach.” …
Continue Reading Appellate Court Rules On Supersedeas Issues For Appeal Of Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Judgment

In Jones v. Jones, the decedent’s wife filed an application for probate of an attested will for her husband, and the decedent’s son from a previous marriage filed a petition contesting the will. No. 01-20-00073-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2019 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] March 29, 2022, no pet. history). The trial court denied the application to probate the will, and the wife appealed.
Continue Reading Court Holds That Initialing A Will Is Sufficient To Meet The Execution Requirement

In Hussion St. Bldgs., LLC v. TRW Eng’rs, Inc., the plaintiff landowner claimed its real property was injured by the failure of an engineering firm involved in developing the adjoining property to include a water-detention plan. No. 14-20-00641-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2193 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] April 5, 2022, no pet. history). The landowner asserted claims of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, and the trial court granted the engineering firm’s summary-judgment motion on the grounds that limitations barred the negligence claim and licensed engineers do not owe fiduciary duties to non-clients. …
Continue Reading Court Holds That Engineer Does Not Owe Fiduciary Duties To A Non-Client

In In re Estate of Vines, a probate court appointed a receiver over a business that was owned by a decedent. No. 01-21-00003-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 2327 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] April 12, 2022, no pet. history). After the decedent died, her grandchildren challenged a new will and other documents that were executed by their grandmother in favor of the grandmother’s nephew. The trial court appointed a temporary administrator and later appointed a receiver over a business that was owned by the grandmother, but that was now controlled by the nephew. The nephew appealed the receivership order on multiple grounds.
Continue Reading Appellate Court Affirmed Receivership Order Where Appellant Waived His Complaints By Not Securing Rulings And By Not Challenging All Potential Grounds Upon Which The Order Was Based

In In re Bumstead Irrevocable Trust, beneficiaries of a trust sued a trustee for various causes of action and sought, and obtained, orders suspending his powers as trustee, appointing a receiver, and ordering him to prepare an adequate accounting. No. 13-20-00350-CV 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 1686 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi March 10, 2022, no pet. history). The trustee appealed. The court of appeals first addressed whether it had jurisdiction over the orders that suspended the trustee’s powers and ordered him to prepare an accounting. …
Continue Reading Court Affirms Orders Against A Trustee Granting Injunctive Relief And Appointing A Receiver

In In re Robinett, a party filed a petition for writ of mandamus, challenging a trial court’s order appointing a temporary administrator. No. 03-21-00649-CV, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 926 (Tex. App.—Austin February 9, 2022, original proc.). The petitioner complained that the trial court failed to hold an evidentiary hearing and also appointed a temporary administrator without a bond. …
Continue Reading Court Reversed Order Appointing Temporary Administrator Due To A Lack Of A Bond

In Estate of Erwin, a husband died leaving some property to his wife and creating two trusts, naming his wife as the trustee and beneficiary with his children as remainder beneficiaries. No. 13-20-00301-CV, 2021 Tex. App. LEXIS 10160 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi December 29, 2021, no pet.). The wife commingled property and made other transfers of property. She then died, and one of her children became the successor administrator of the husband’s estate and the administrator of the mother’s estate. …
Continue Reading Court Held That A Beneficiary’s Claims Against The Estate Of The Trustee Was Not Barred By Limitations