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Hillbroom suit reaches settlement
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Posted on Nov 26 2021
After over 10 years since the lawsuit was filed, the parties involved in the lawsuit filed by Junior Larry Hillbroom have agreed to a settlement.
According to the minutes following a status conference last Tuesday, U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy, Hillbroom, and the defendants are finalizing settlement discussions and are expected to submit a stipulated motion for dismissal on or before Dec. 2.
Due to the development in the case, Kennedy vacated all pending dates and deadlines and scheduled a status conference for Dec. 2 at 4pm
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona previously scheduled the jury trial for Dec. 7.
According to court documents, back in 2010, Hillbroom sued his former attorneys, David J. Lujan and Barry Israel, for legal malpractice, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and violations of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Israel and Lujan represented Hillbroom when he was a minor in securing $90 million from the Larry Lee Hillblom estate. When Hillbroom became an adult, he sued his former lawyers for malpractice as well as his former trustee, Keith Waibel, for conspiracy.
Hillbroom alleged that the defendants committed extrinsic fraud on the Guam guardianship court by denying him a fair opportunity to challenge their 56% retainer.
In July 2020, Hillbroom agreed to dismiss Israel from the lawsuit after a settlement agreement was reached.
Waibel, who represents himself in the lawsuit, has pending cross-claims against Lujan for indemnification.
Manglona previously denied Lujan’s request to dismiss Waibel’s cross-claims against him.
Hillbroom is one of four DNA-proven heirs of DHL Corp. founder Larry Lee Hillblom who died in a plane crash in 1995 near Saipan, leaving behind an estate estimated at about $600 million.
