Kennedy orders lawyer to give info on Hillbroom arrest

The federal court has ordered one of the lawyers for Junior Larry Hillbroom to submit information in court regarding his criminal case in the Republic of Palau.

At a telephonic status conference last week, U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy asked attorney David Bigelow to file by May 18, 2016, a report that will provide information regarding Hillbroom’s release conditions and trial date in the Palau case.

Kennedy set another telephonic status conference for May 18, 2016, at 9am pertaining to his pending lawsuit against his former lawyers David J. Lujan and Barry Israel.

Hillbroom, one of the four DNA-proven children of the late business tycoon and DHL co-founder Larry Lee Hillblom, was recaptured hours after he allegedly escaped from police custody last Feb. 19, just a few days after he was arrested over the seizure of $160,000 worth of 160 grams of methamphetamine or “ice.”

Hillbroom, 31, was recaptured after he allegedly dove into the water and tried to swim when police tracked a vehicle at a dock in a town called Meyuns Hamlet in Palau before, according to news reports.

At the status conference last week in Hillbroom’s lawsuit in federal court, attorneys Bigelow, Philip McDermott and Mark Hanson appeared on behalf of Hillbroom.

Attorneys Theodore Frank and Victorino Torres appeared on behalf of Israel. Lujan and former Hillbroom trustee Keith Waibel appeared for themselves.

According to the minutes of the status conference, Bigelow provided the court with updates on the status of Hillbroom’s pending case in Palau.

Frank stated that he had many issues with the declaration filed by Bigelow.

Kennedy asked counsel to focus on the upcoming deadlines and stated that the discovery deadline was May 5, 2016.

Bigelow said the parties were hopeful depositions would be completed in June and this was an informal agreement with the parties.

Bigelow said with the new trial date, there are no currently set deadlines such as expert reports or dispositive motions.

Kennedy ordered the parties to submit a proposed case management scheduling order by May 11, 2016.

Hillbroom was first served with an arrest warrant for trafficking controlled substance charge when he arrived in Palau from Manila last Feb. 17, according to a press release by Palau’s Ministry of Justice.

Combined efforts of the Bureau of Public Safety, the Division of Customs, and the Belau Drug Enforcement Task Force led to Hillbroom’s arrest at the Palau International Airport.

The arrest of Hillbroom came after two women who arrived from Manila last Feb. 12 were allegedly found concealing 160 grams of “ice.”

Further investigation indicated that Hillbroom was the alleged supplier of the seized “ice.”

According to court papers, the two women claimed that Hillbroom “offered to pay them when they arrived in Palau.”

Hillbroom was taken before a court on Feb. 19 and a bail of $500,000 (RM 2.1 million) surety or $250,000 cash bond was imposed.

On Feb. 20, Hillbroom was allegedly talking to a visitor inside the Division of Corrections when he escaped by running out the front door and jumping into the passenger side of a pick-up truck that was parked outside the Koror jail.

The driver of the truck was arrested that same day.

Hillbroom’s mother, Kaelani Kinney, is Palauan. Hillbroom is based in the U.S. mainland, but has been staying in Palau in recent months, according to news reports in Palau.

Lujan was the lead counsel in Hillbroom’s successful legal battle in CNMI Supreme Court to claim part of Hillblom’s multi-million estate.

Hillbroom’s name is spelled differently from DHL co-founder Larry Hillblom.

Hillbroom has filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against Lujan and Israel in federal court.

Hillbroom is suing the two lawyers for allegedly conspiring with former trustee Waibel to inflate the attorney’s contingency fee when Hillblom’s fortune was still undergoing probate proceedings in Superior Court.

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.