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Federal judge orders Hillbroom to appear, explain why he should not be sanctioned
The federal court has ordered Junior Larry Hillbroom to appear in court today, Friday, to explain why he should not be sanctioned for not showing up at a settlement conference.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy ordered Hillbroom to appear in court at 8:30am to show cause why he should not be sanctioned for violating the court’s orders.
Kennedy said Hillbroom failed to appear for a settlement conference last Monday as directed by two court orders.
The settlement conference was set in connection with Hillbroom’s pending lawsuit against his two previous lawyers for allegedly conspiring with a former trustee to inflate the attorney’s contingency fee when late business tycoon Larry Hillblom’s fortune was still undergoing probate proceedings.
Last July, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona issued a ruling favorable to Hillbroom by denying the motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by Hillbroom’s two former lawyers, David J. Lujan and Barry J. Israel.
Manglona ruled that all grounds asserted by Lujan and Israel failed.
With Manglona’s ruling, it means that Hillbroom’s lawsuit against Lujan and Israel will proceed.
The Vietnam-based Israel and Guam lawyer Lujan used to serve as counsels for Hillbroom in the late Hillblom’s probate matter in Superior Court. Hillbroom is the DNA-proven son of Hillblom.
Hillblom, founder of DHL Express, died in a plane crash off Anatahan waters in 1995. His body was never recovered.
Approximately $100 million in assets were distributed to Hillbroom in the settlement of the probate case for Hillblom estate. Since Hillbroom was a minor at the time of the settlement, the Junior Larry Hillbroom Trust was created for him.
