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Dallas, Texas  ·  Complex Commercial Litigation

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Portrait of Hon. Bill Whitehill

Hon. Bill Whitehill

Judge · Seat 1B

Texas Business Court · First Business Court Division (Dallas)

Biography

Bill Whitehill is an inaugural Judge of the Texas Business Court First Division, Dallas. He came to the Court from Condon Tobin Sladek Thornton Nerenberg PLLC, where he was a member and led the firm’s Appellate Section. Before joining the Business Court, Bill served as a Justice on the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals, where he authored over 600 substantive opinions. Bill was an associate and partner at Gardere Wynne Sewell, LLP, now known as Foley & Lardner, LLP for thirty-three years. At Gardere, he handled commercial, antitrust, securities, intellectual property, and fiduciary trials and appeals. He is a sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and fellow of the Dallas Bar Foundation. He is a homeless kitchen volunteer for Cornerstone Baptist Church and is a former co-teacher and mentor at Cornerstone Crossroads Academy. Bill received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and a Juris Doctor with honors from the SMU Dedman School of Law and an Order of the Coif member.

Source: txcourts.gov

Opinions by Judge Whitehill (1)

Fiduciary Duty Bond Trustee ×
2026 Tex. Bus. 59 August 14, 2026

Bond Indenture Trustee Owes Contractual, Not Statutory Trust Code, Duties When Legal Title Does Not Transfer

In *Preston Hollow Capital v. Truist Bank*, the Texas Business Court held that bond indenture documents did not create an express trust subject to the Trust Code because they failed to transfer complete legal title to the trustee, a prerequisite under Texas law. The court ruled that the bond trustee's duties were instead contractually defined by the indenture terms, not by statutory fiduciary obligations.

Fiduciary Duty Trust Code Bond Indenture Express Trust Securities & Investment Opinion PDF ↓