TD Bank Sues Lawyer’s Widow over His Alleged Fraudulent Transactions

TD Bank has sued the widow of a Washington, D.C., real estate lawyer, claiming he committed fraud in loan applications before his death from cancer. The suit (PDF) against the widow of lawyer Frank Pearl claims the bank would not have approved a $16 million credit extension involving a corporation…

Aug 10, 2012 1:28 PM CDT

Texas Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Misusing $600K of Children’s Personal Injury Awards

A Texas lawyer appointed to represent children in personal injury cases pleaded guilty Friday to using their legal awards for personal use, rather than directly placing the funds in court registries. The registries are meant to hold the children’s money until they reach the age of 18, the Austin American-Statesman…

Aug 7, 2012 3:26 PM CDT

8th Circuit Revives Suit Over Elvis Memorabilia

A federal appeals court has ruled that the heirs to a longtime friend of Elvis Presley can proceed with a lawsuit over a clump of the King’s hair and other memorabilia they claim were stolen and sold at auction. At stake is $250,000 in proceeds from the sale of a…

Aug 2, 2012 8:39 PM CDT

Top Maine Court OKs $25K Verrill Dana ‘Crisis’ Receivership Fee re Well-Known Lawyer’s Disappearance

Parsing a receivership order (PDF) after the fact, Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court has OK’d a legal fees award of nearly $25,000 to Verrill Dana, which provided a trusts and estates partner to step in on an emergency basis when a well-known probate practitioner disappeared. Verrill Dana had documented legal fees…

Aug 1, 2012 8:24 PM CDT

Of Sound Mind: Make Plans for Your Digital Estate

Aug 1, 2012 6:50 AM CDT

Judge Laments ‘Endless Wasting’ of Disabled Man’s Trust, Denies $30K in Attorney Fees

A California judge has refused to approve nearly $30,000 in a new round of attorney fees charged to the special needs trust of a disabled man, after reluctantly approving another $145,000 spent to defend an earlier attorney fee request. In a ruling released on Monday, Judge Franklin Bondonno of Santa…

Jul 31, 2012 12:59 PM CDT

Auto Worker, 93, Gives ‘Bulletproof Provenance’ re 1928 Al Capone Car Auctioned By Attorney’s Estate

When a prominent Texas trial lawyer bought a 1928 armor-plated Cadillac once owned by gangster Al Capone, the history of the car was well-documented from 1931, after a tax-evasion conviction prompted its sale, to attorney John O’Quinn’s purchase of the vehicle for $621,500 at auction in 2006. But early confirmation…

Jul 30, 2012 6:26 PM CDT

Administrator to Seek Surrogate Judge’s Removal, Due to His Handling of Lawyer’s Excessive Billing

An administrator for a panel hearing an ethics case against a New York City judge announced Monday that it will recommend Bronx Surrogate Judge Lee Holzman be removed due to the manner in which he handled a lawyer’s excessive billing issues. In a report last week, a hearing referee found…

Jul 24, 2012 8:39 PM CDT

Already Disbarred re Other Misconduct, Ex-Lawyer Is Criminally Charged re Claimed $100K Estate Theft

A longtime New York practitioner who was previously disbarred and ordered to pay a little over $20,000 restitution to a former client is now facing criminal charges in an unrelated case. Roger J. Niemel, 69, has pleaded not guilty in Niagara County Court to charges of second-degree grand larceny and…

Jun 29, 2012 5:22 PM CDT

A Big Mess in Little Neck: Clause in 17th Century Land Trust Causes Modern-Day Ruckus

Jun 1, 2012 9:20 AM CDT

Staff of Reclusive Heiress Coerced Her Out of $44M in Gifts, Executor Says

Nurses, doctors, a hospital, a lawyer and an accountant for reclusive heiress Huguette Clark coerced or influenced her out of more than $44 million in gifts, the executor of her estate said in a court filing Tuesday. The executor, who doesn’t deny that Clark authorized nearly all of those gifts,…

May 23, 2012 9:37 PM CDT

Supreme Court: In Vitro Twins Conceived After Dad’s Death Are Not Entitled to Survivor Benefit

Florida twins conceived through in vitro fertilization after their father’s death are not entitled to Social Security survivor benefits, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. The case, Astrue v. Capato, involves twins born 18 months after their father, Robert Capato, died of cancer. Capato’s widow, Karen, used frozen sperm for…

May 21, 2012 3:14 PM CDT

Judge and 2 Court-Appointed Lawyers Sued Over Alleged Conspiracy to Loot Rosa Parks Estate

In the latest salvo in an onoing dispute over the estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, an attorney for a foundation that was to benefit from her will has sued a Michigan probate judge and two court-appointed attorneys, contending that they conspired to loot her estate. The unusual filing…

May 17, 2012 4:06 PM CDT

Stringing Them Along? Case Details Hint at Rancorous Rationale Behind Tricky Tactics

May 1, 2012 5:30 AM CDT

Purchase of Old Stock Certificate Is New Version of ‘Beverly Hillbillies,’ Judge Says

A case pending in Delaware considers whether the heirs of a man who bought an antique stock certificate at an estate sale are now entitled to a $130 million stake in Coca Cola. The case involves the California family of Tony Marohn, who died in 2010, two years after he…

Apr 9, 2012 10:30 AM CDT