The Benson family feud lurched forward again when court ordered mediation took place in Texas over control of the Shirley Benson Trust. The trust has been hotly contested since it contains the bulk of Tom Benson’s dealership assets which is the business that moved him into the ranks of the world’s billionaires. However, his estranged daughter sought to have Benson removed as trustee allegedly due to his mental decline and that fact that he is heavily influenced by his current wife and executives from his New Orleans based sports teams. The dispute, in no small part, can be traced back to Benson deciding to leave control of his teams to his current wife which disrupted the anticipated succession of his daughter and her family to control of the franchises. As of now, a trial on Benson’s competency to be trustee is set to begin in February with the judge indicating that extensions are not favored. But regardless of when the trial takes place, it is unlikely that it will end the dispute as shown in a parallel case in Louisiana where appeals from a trial court ruling Benson competent are ongoing.
See Katherine Sayre, Outcome of Tom Benson mediation with daughter in Texas unclear, NOLA.com, January 12, 2016.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
