David Fowler Johnson

David Johnson Financial Institution lLtigation Winstead Law Firm Fort Worth Texas

David Fowler Johnson
Winstead
Managing Shareholder - Fort Worth
817.420.8223
Website
winstead.com
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Professional Biography:

David maintains an active trial and appellate practice and has consistently worked on financial institution litigation matters throughout his career. David is the primary author of the Texas Fiduciary Litigator blog, which reports on legal cases and issues impacting the fiduciary field in Texas.

David's financial institution experience includes (but is not limited to): breach of contract, foreclosure litigation, lender liability, receivership and injunction remedies upon default, non-recourse and other real estate lending, class action, RICO actions, usury, various tort causes of action, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and preference and other related claims raised by receivers.

David also has experience in estate and trust disputes including will contests, mental competency issues, undue influence, trust modification/clarification, breach of fiduciary duty and related claims, and accountings. David's recent trial experience includes:

Representing a bank in federal class action suit where trust beneficiaries challenged whether the bank was the authorized trustee of over 220 trusts;
Representing a bank in state court regarding claims that it mismanaged oil and gas assets;
Representing a bank who filed suit in probate court to modify three trusts to remove a charitable beneficiary that had substantially changed operations;
Represented an individual executor of an estate against claims raised by a beneficiary for breach of fiduciary duty and an accounting; and
Represented an individual trustee against claims raised by a beneficiary for breach of fiduciary duty, mental competence of the settlor, and undue influence.

David is one of twenty attorneys in the state (of the 84,000 licensed) that has the triple Board Certification in Civil Trial Law, Civil Appellate and Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

Additionally, David is a member of the Civil Trial Law Commission of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. This commission writes and grades the exam for new applicants for civil trial law certification.

Articles in the National Law Review database by David Fowler Johnson

Texas Supreme Court Affirms The Release In A Family Settlement Agreement That Protected A Former Trustee’s Estate From Claims And Discusses the “Full Knowledge” Requirement For Enforcing Releases In Fiduciary Relationships (Posted On Monday, March 27, 2023)
Court Affirmed The Decision To Not Probate A Copy Of A Lost Will (Posted On Monday, March 20, 2023)
Court Affirmed An Order Holding That A Deceased Astronaut’s Artifacts Were His Separate Property (Posted On Friday, March 10, 2023)
Appellate Court Affirmed An Order Denying A Beneficiary’s Request For Injunctive Relief To Require A Trustee To Reimburse The Trust For Attorney’s Fees Spent Defending Breach Of Fiduciary Duty Claims (Posted On Wednesday, March 1, 2023)
Court Construes A Trust To Allow A Trustee To Sell Real Estate And To Consider The Proceeds As Principal Of The Trust (Posted On Tuesday, February 21, 2023)
New Texas Bill Would Provide Qualified Release Relief To Trustees Who Deliver Adequate Accountings Without A Timely Objection By The Beneficiary (Posted On Tuesday, January 31, 2023)
Court Granted Mandamus Relief To Order District Court To Abate Trust Dispute Due To Earlier Filed Suit In Probate Court (Posted On Monday, January 30, 2023)
Court Affirms Judgment In Divorce Proceeding That Property Was Community Even Though It Was Purchased With Trust Assets (Posted On Monday, January 30, 2023)
Court Affirmed Summary Judgment For A Financial Advisor Due To The Dead Man’s Rule Arising From Claim That He Failed To Change A Beneficiary Designation (Posted On Tuesday, January 17, 2023)
Federal Court Dismissed Some But Not All Claims Against Individuals And Entities Arising Out Of Operation Of A Limited Partnership (Posted On Tuesday, January 17, 2023)
Court Holds That Trustee Who Engaged In Self-Interested Transactions Did Not Have Standing To Challenge Guardianship Proceeding Involving The Beneficiary (Posted On Tuesday, November 15, 2022)
Court Refused Mandamus Relief Due To Party’s Failure To Ask Trial Court To Issue New Special Needs Trust (Posted On Monday, November 14, 2022)
Texas Supreme Court Justice Authors Opinion Arguing That Claim Regarding Contingent Remainder Beneficiary Status Was Ripe (Posted On Sunday, October 30, 2022)
Enforcement Of Will/Trust Provisions Giving The Fiduciary The Power To Construe The Document (Posted On Monday, October 17, 2022)
Appellate Court Affirms Findings That Decedent’s Will Was Not A Product Of Undue Influence And That He Had Mental Capacity (Posted On Monday, October 3, 2022)
Appellate Court Denies Mandamus Regarding A Trial Court’s Initial Disclosure Order In An Estate Case (Posted On Monday, October 3, 2022)
Employee’s Fiduciary Duty May Not Be Limited To His Or Her Employer (Posted On Tuesday, August 30, 2022)
Court Held That Those In Control Of A Limited Liability Company May Owe Fiduciary Duties To The Company And Its Members (Posted On Tuesday, August 30, 2022)
Court Reversed Order Admitting a Will to Probate as a Muniment of Title Due to the Statute of Limitations (Posted On Saturday, August 6, 2022)
Court Construed a Will to Provide That Mineral Interests Were Devised to the Surviving Daughter’s Family and to Cut Out a Predeceased Daughter’s Family (Posted On Saturday, August 6, 2022)

Pages

Estates and Trusts

Texas Elder Financial Abuse Law

The National Law Review names David Fowler Johnson of Winstead PC a Go-To Thought Leader in the field of estates and trusts. Mr. Johnson authored the 2022 article “Texas Passes A New Law To Punish Elder Financial Abuse,” detailing at-length the Texas Legislature’s new criminalization of financial abuse of the elderly, which saw significant increases in 2021 and 2022. The article reached a considerable audience this year, and demonstrates the very high quality of Mr. Johnson’s thought leadership.

Estate Law

Fiduciary Litigation

David Fowler Johnson is a National Law Review Go-To Thought Leader for his analysis of fiduciary law including trust administration, breach of fiduciary duties in estate administration, shareholder derivative suits, directors and officers liability, duties of co-trustees, receivership, and related topics. Mr. Johnson’s knowledge of the Texas Supreme Court and various Texas intermediate appellate courts as well as with the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts lends his thought leadership an authentic quality based on years of trial experience.