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In the most recent installment of the McGuireWoods Fiduciary
Advisory Services annual multipart series on recent fiduciary
cases, developments in the law concerning various topics are
examined through the following:
Reliance Trust Company v. Candler et al. (Georgia)
Trustee surcharged for excessive and arbitrary discretionary
distributions to surviving spouse from marital trust.
Lawton et al. v. Bank of America (Rhode Island)
Executor surcharged for delay in distributing stock to
beneficiaries, conditioning distributions on signing releases and
approving an inaccurate accounting, and allowing court ordered sale
of stock from estate at discounted price.
Bellamy v. Langfitt (Florida)
Settlement agreement that discharged corporate co-trustee, without
naming a replacement as required by the trust terms, rejected as an
improper trust modification.
Nederlander, et. al. v. Papiano (California)
Lawyer serving as trustee surcharged for distributing assets
pursuant to trust amendments that affected partial revocation
requiring consent of co-trustees, and double damages awarded for
bad faith in allowing amendments in order to extract payment of
lawyer's fees out of the trust assets.
Martin v. Martin (Texas)
Exculpation clause in trust cannot bar claim for breach of duty to
act in good faith, but trust beneficiaries cannot sue for lost
value to company held in trust and also failed to prove mental
anguish.
Steingass v. Steingass (Ohio)
2010 decedent's trust formula funding provision directs all
assets to marital trust because no federal estate tax.
United States v. MacIntyre (Texas)
Income beneficiary liable for gift taxes owed by terminated
GRIT.
Leventhal v. Montelione (California)
Lifetime beneficiary of ILIT not entitled to death benefit
proceeds.
In the Matter of the Estate of Bernadine J. Moncur (South
Dakota)
Trustee is entitled to purchase trust assets at a properly
conducted auction following notice to the beneficiaries.
Swendsen v. Corey (Idaho)
Beneficiary does not have standing to sue on behalf of the trust
without first seeking to compel trustee to bring the claim.
Jacobson v. Sklaire (Florida)
Trustees liable for beneficiary's legal fees for refusal to
make required trust distribution.
Wilbourn v. Wilbourn (Mississippi)
Co-Trustee removed and denied compensation for actions as chairman
of bank owned in part by trust.
Reed v. JP Morgan Chase Bank (Oklahoma)
Suit for instructions construing trust terms and settlor's
intent does not bar later claim to modify trust terms.
Merrill Lynch Trust Company v. Mary F.C. Campbell
(Delaware)
Court reverses dismissal of beneficiary claims on laches.
Commonwealth Bank & Trust Co., et. al. v. Young, et. al.
(Kentucky)
Suit against trustee for breach of duty is not a contest that
triggers forfeiture clause.
NorthShore University Health System v. Graham (Illinois)
Appellate court reverses award of attorneys' fees against
trustee for breach of trust and remands to determine if
trustee's conduct justifies the award.
Clower, et. al. v. Wells Fargo Bank (Texas)
Court dismisses suit attempting to remove corporate trustee
because only predecessor bank was named in trust documents.
In re Estate of Alden v. Alden (Vermont)
Limitations period in trust instrument bars claims against trustee
for breach of fiduciary duty.
2006 Frank Calandra, Jr. Irrevocable Trust v. Signature Bank
Corp. (New York)
Bank holding trust accounts not liable for trustee's breach of
trust.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
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A discussion on the jurisdictional limitations of forum-selection clauses, the inconsistencies with their enforceability, and the potential for the establishment of a standardized procedure to enable companies to evaluate forum-selection clauses with more certainty going forward.
Under what is commonly called the Sporck doctrine, the opinion work product doctrine can sometimes protect the identity of certain documents that do not themselves deserve intrinsic privilege or work product protection, as long as the adversary also has the documents and the identity could reflect a lawyer's opinion.
Keywords: Amgen v. Conn. Retirement Plans, Basic Inc. v. Levinson, Erica P. John Fund Inc. v. Halliburton Co., Fifth Circuit, fraud on the market, reliance, Supreme Court
In Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383 (1981), the court interpreted federal common law as extending privilege protection to communications between a company's lawyer and any level of employee, if that employee has facts the lawyer needs when advising the corporate client.
Procedural rules that govern lawsuits in federal court permit defendants to make an "offer of judgment," which is a mechanism allowing a defendant to offer to settle a lawsuit.
