Charles W. Ranson
Expert Witness
Wealth Management and Trust & Estates
Trusts & Estates Litigation Expert Witness
Nelson Mullins — Columbia, South Carolina
Willke Farr & Gallagher LLP — New York, New York
Engaged by plaintiff counsel Nelson Mullins and Willke Farr Gallagher in a dispute in federal court between an insurance company and a national bank institutional trust division. Plaintiff claimed that defendant breached its fiduciary duty under the terms of the trust agreement. Wrote an expert report and was deposed by opposing counsel. The case settled under a federal court protective order.
Dawson Orr — Jacksonville, Florida
Engaged by Dawson Orr. At issue was whether the defendant trustee breached its fiduciary duty/standard of care to the beneficiaries in the administration and subsequent distribution of the irrevocable trust's assets. Was deposed by opposing counsel. Case settled.
Hoffman & Hoffman — Miami, Florida
Engaged by Hoffman & Hoffman. At issue in this case is whether an irrevocable funded trust, which was managed by a broker-dealer, was the enforceable trust at the time of the grantor’s death. Prior to the grantor’s death, a new trust was drawn, which did not revoke, or amend, the original trust. The parties sought relief from the court as to who the rightful beneficiaries were. I testified on behalf of the plaintiffs on the following issue: policies and procedures that affect the transfer of assets between separate, but independent, legal entities.
Foley and Lardner, LLP — Orlando, Florida
Engaged by Foley and Lardner on behalf of the trustees of the Robert Rauschenberg Trust. The case was to determine reasonable trustee fees under Florida law. I provided an expert report, and was deposed and testified in Lee County, Florida probate court.
Solomon Dwiggins & Freer, LTD — Las Vegas, Nevada
Engaged by Soloman Dwiggins & Freer on behalf of two income beneficiaries of a testamentary, multigenerational $1.5 billion trust. The case involved an allegation of breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of duty of impartiality by the co-trustees (a family member and a major corporate fiduciary) between current income and remainder beneficiaries of the trusts. I provided an expert report and rebuttal reports and was deposed by opposing counsel.
Case Multigenerational Trust Trustee's Duty of Impartiality
Trenam Kemker – Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida
Engaged by Trenam Kemker in a cross-claim of breach of fiduciary duty by major corporate fiduciary offering Family Office Services advice across multiple business lines of the bank to a leading Florida entrepreneur. I wrote an expert report, and was deposed by opposing counsel.
Sachs Sax Caplan – Boca Raton, Florida
Engaged by defendant’s law firm Sachs Sax Caplan. At issue was a commercial mortgage foreclosure case with a cross-claim by the defendant of fraudulent inducement and breach of fiduciary duty by the bank in the solicitation and unauthorized execution of an interest rate swap. I prepared affidavits for the court and appeared at a mediation of the case.
Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, PA (Gunster) – West Palm Beach, Florida
Engaged by Gunster on behalf of their plaintiff client, a major private commercial mortgage lender in a bankruptcy matter. I provided opinion on enforceability of personal guarantees of commercial mortgage loans.
Boyes & Farina, PA – Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Engaged by Boyes & Farina to provide litigation consulting in a breach of fiduciary duty case brought by the beneficiaries of a trust against a corporate fiduciary.
Clark Skatoff, PA – Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Engaged by Clark Skatoff to provide litigation consulting in a breach of fiduciary duty case brought by the beneficiaries of a trust against a corporate fiduciary.
Expert Report and Settled
Dunlop Fiore, LLC — Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Engaged by Dunlop Fiore to render an opinion and write an expert report and rebuttal report for the court. At issue was the fiduciary relationship senior corporate officers have to their employer during the term of their employment. The case centered on a financial service firm’s recruiting and lifting out an entire senior management team, causing the collapse of the bank subsidiary mortgage business. The corporate officers in the lift-out conspired with the acquiring firm for months using proprietary and confidential information for the purposes of establishing a direct competitor in a highly specialized mortgage business. The case settled prior to being deposed by opposing counsel and to the satisfaction of the plaintiff.
Nenner & Namrow, PC — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Engaged by Nenner Namerow to render an opinion and write an expert report for the court in a wrongful death case involving the assets of a special needs trust in which a bank was the sole trustee. The case settled out of court to the satisfaction of engaging counsel.
Solomon Dwiggins & Freer, LTD — Las Vegas, Nevada
Engaged by the attorneys of Solomon Dwiggins & Freer to render an opinion and write an expert report for the court in litigation between a registered investment advisor / trustee and the income beneficiary of family trusts with a spendthrift clause. The case was settled prior to being deposed by opposing counsel and to the satisfaction of the defendant.
The Family Business as a Trust Asset Trustee's Special Skill
Personal references by attorneys I have provided services to will be made available upon request.