Judge OKs Wrongful-Death Suit on Behalf of Aborted Embryo
An Alabama judge’s ruling has given legal standing to an aborted embryo.
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Redstone Estate Wrap
The three-year war over media mogul Sumner Redstone’s estate came to a quiet end Wednesday, after a California judge ruled the 95-year-old former Viacom exec had the mental capacity to amend his trust in 2015 and 2016 to exclude a former companion in favor of his daughter Shari Redstone.
Read moreHuman Rights Court Rules Against Greece in Sharia Law Case
Greece violated a prohibition on discrimination by applying Islamic religious law to an inheritance dispute among members of the country’s Muslim minority, the European Court of Human Rights ruled Wednesday.
Read moreLibertarians Fighting Payment-Plan Rules Stumble at DC Circuit
The en banc D.C. Circuit appeared likely at oral arguments Friday to endorse the installment plan forced upon the Libertarian Party after it was bequeathed a hefty donation.
Read moreWorkers’ Estates Can Collect on Unused Leave Time, EU Court Rules
Two German widows are entitled to allowances in lieu of paid annual leave that their husbands had accrued at work before their deaths, the European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday.
Read moreCopy of ‘Lady Chatterley’ Used at Obscenity Trial for Sale
A paperback copy of “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” used by the judge in the book’s landmark U.K. obscenity trial is expected to sell at auction for up to 15,000 pounds ($20,000).
Read moreJudge Appoints Trustee for Hawaiian Princess’s Millions
A Hawaii judge on Monday made First Hawaiian Bank the new trustee of the estate of Hawaiian princess and sugar cane heiress Abigail Kawananakoa, after finding the 92-year old lacks the mental capacity to oversee the $220 million trust.
Read moreMan Linked to Relatives’ Deaths Seeks Access to Trust Fund
A Vermont man accused by relatives of killing his millionaire grandfather and his mother to collect inheritance money asked a Connecticut probate judge Tuesday to allow him immediate access to $150,000 in a family trust so he can pay for legal expenses.
Read moreWidower Wins Court Battle for Estate of ‘Thorn Birds’ Author
An Australian judge ruled on Friday that best-selling author Colleen McCullough’s widower was the sole beneficiary of her estate following a bitter court wrangle.
Read moreWomen Fight Idaho’s ‘Pregnancy Exclusion’ for Living Wills
Four women on Thursday challenged the constitutionality of an Idaho law that invalidates an adult woman’s living will if she is pregnant.
Read moreMichael Jackson’s Estate Sues Over ABC Documentary
Michael Jackson’s estate sued ABC Inc. and the Walt Disney Company Wednesday, claiming it did not authorize the use of the late musician’s music videos and songs for a documentary that aired earlier this month.
Read moreWorkers’ Vacation Pay Can Be Inherited, EU Magistrate Says
A European Court of Justice magistrate on Tuesday urged his colleagues to overturn a German law that bars heirs from demanding their loved one’s unused vacation time in cash.
Read moreFight Over ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Play Moved to New York
Granting a Broadway production company’s request to move a lawsuit over its stage adaption of “To Kill a Mockingbird” from Alabama to New York, a federal judge said Monday that a live courtroom performance could be needed to decide the case.
Read moreCollector Roasts Sotheby’s on Upcoming Sale of $30M Basquiat
Suing to block Sotheby’s sale of a masterpiece by the acclaimed graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, an 86-year-old collector accused the storied auction house Thursday of “shamelessly” capitalizing on a family in turmoil.
Read moreBroadway Producer Fights Back Against Harper Lee Estate
Hollywood producer Scott Rudin’s theater company filed a $10 million countersuit against the estate of author Harper Lee for trying to block an upcoming stage adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and offered a courtroom performance featuring actor Jeff Daniels as Atticus Finch.
Read moreLawsuit Demands Cut of Picasso Painting Sale Proceeds
An estate sale firm claims in Florida court that it was stiffed out of its commission on the $23 million sale of a Pablo Picasso painting.
Read moreSupreme Court Carves Out Appeal in Consolidated Family Feud
Advancing an appeal in a sibling squabble with as many branches as their family tree, the Supreme Court clarified the caselaw Tuesday on consolidated cases.
Read moreHarper Lee Estate Sues Over ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Play
The representative of the estate of famed American author Harper Lee sued a New York theater production company, accusing it of changing too much in its upcoming stage adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
Read moreCharles Manson Corpse Not Expected to Be on Ice for Long
The body of murder mastermind Charles Manson may soon be put to rest after a Kern County Superior Court commissioner said Wednesday that she would rule soon in the dispute over who can collect his remains.
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