In the Matter of the Mark Hughes Family Trust dates Sept. 3 1987
Published: Mar. 30, 2013 | Result Date: Mar. 18, 2013 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: BP063500 Bench Decision – Petitioner
Court
L.A. Superior
Attorneys
Petitioner
Eric V. Rowen
(Greenberg Traurig LLP)
Respondent
Edward A. Woods
(Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP)
Facts
Mark Hughes, founder of Herbalife International of America Inc. placed John Reynolds, Christopher Pair, and Conrad Klein in charge of his $350 million Mark Hughes Family Trust. Hughes died shortly thereafter from what was officially ruled an accidental overdose of alcohol mixed with antidepressants. Alexander Hughes, the decedent's son and the trust beneficiary, stood to inherit the trust once he turns 35. The younger Hughes sought to remove the trustees for abusing their discretion and breaching the terms of the trust. Alexander also alleged that the trustees showed hostility toward him and spent trust money on themselves rather than managing the trust for his benefit.
Result
Los Angeles Superior Court Jude Mitchell L. Beckloff found the three trustees had failed to safeguard the money "with prudence, skill and diligence" based on a transaction involving an entity that later went bankrupt. Judge Beckloff found that the trustees sat idly by as the entity defaulted on the transaction. The judge then ordered the trustees removed.
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