Darryl J. Horowitt and Eliot S. Nahigian recently assisted our client in bringing part of a highly contested probate dispute closer to a conclusion by obtaining a favorable verdict after trial in San Mateo Superior Court. This action has been reported in past editions of our newsletter. As we described previously, our client was named a beneficiary in his mother's will, which divided her estate equally between her three children. The middle brother, who was to serve as the executor of the estate, however, believed that a trust that had been prepared by the mother but revoked by a later will was in effect and left all the property to him. He refused to share any portion of the mother's estate with our client. We then filed suit to enforce our client's property rights.
The action was vigorously defended, in part because the defendant's lawyer obtained payment of fees that the court ultimately ordered him to refund, and the defense believed that our client's claims were specious. Mediation was then held and it seemed that the case was settled, only to have it fall apart at the last moment. We then made a formal offer to compromise along the same terms as offered at the mediation. The defendant-brother accepted. The settlement acknowledged the primacy of the will and secured our client a portion of the estate to which he was entitled.
The case then proceeded to trial against the defendant's lawyer, who was ordered several times to refunds fees he and his firm received. The court granted judgment in favor of our client. The judgment included an award for the funds taken by counsel and his firm, interest, costs and attorney's fees and, most importantly, a penalty under Probate Code § 859 for twice the amount taken. In all, it is expected that the judgment will total over $1 million.
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