Surrogate disqualifies an executor due to her attorneys’ prior vexatious conduct

Roseanna DeLaune died intestate in 1997. Her sister, Paula M. Venezia, who was statutorily appointed as an executor, hired as counsel her childhood friend, Alfred Sica. Sica hired the law firm now known as Vaneria & Spanos. During the administration of DeLaune’s estate things turned hostile between Sica and one of DeLaune’s heirs, her disabled nephew William Pennington III. In 2003, Venezia died leaving her $1,000,000 estate to the same nephew Pennington, and nominating her goddaughter, Joanne Zaccaria as an executrix.

Zaccaria hired the same attorneys who were handling DeLaune’s estate. Pennington, who has had a contentious relationship with this counsel, opposed Zaccaria’s appointment as an executrix as well as her choice of attorneys. Surrogate Margarita Lopez Torres ruled in his favor. As a reason for Zaccaria’s disqualification as an executrix, Surrogate cited Zaccaria’s attorney’s “vexatious conduct” during the administration of DeLaune’s estate.

Here are more details on this story from Mark Fass, ‘Vexatious’ Attorney Conduct Results in Removal of Executor, law.com, Nov. 12, 2007:

“The testimony shows that Alfred Sica, in his capacity as co-conservator in the DeLaune estate, failed to communicate with Pennington as to the progress of the conservatorship where Pennington testified that Sica ‘stopped being responsive to my inquiries[.]’ * * *

In the DeLaune case, Sica denied the then-indigent Pennington’s request for a disbursement that would allow him to retain counsel[.] * * * Pennington, who suffers from several disabilities, sought the appointment of a guardian to defend his interests, which Sica also opposed.