Battle for Hillblom fortune continues

Nearly three months since the distribution of the remaining assets of the multi-million estate of the late business tycoon Larry Hillblom to his heirs and their lawyers, the battle over his fortune continues in court.

U.S. District Judge Alex R. Munson on Friday denied a motion for partial summary judgment sought by a lawyer for Junior Larry Hillbroom against the lawsuit brought by a New York-based journalist last April.

He also ordered the plaintiff, Myron A. Farber, to file an amended complaint within 20 days to the case which came just a day before the CNMI Superior Court began on April 6 the process of dividing over $65 million of Mr. Hillblom’s last assets.

The summary judgment sought by David Lujan, Junior’s lawyer, would have cleared alleged breach of contract raised by Mr. Farber in the suit which he lodged at the federal court in a bid to stop disbursement of the money.

The journalist, who wrote an article about the fortune of the DHL founder published in the Vanity Fair magazine and once a co-producer of NBC Dateline for a segment on Mr. Hillblom, was demanding $600,000 as payment for a bonus fee promised by Mr. Lujan at the final distribution.

Mr. Farber was hired to offer services that would back up claims by Junior on his father’s fortune, including a “secret” DNA that confirmed as to his paternity, during the five-year legal battle waged by heirs and their lawyers, according to the lawsuit. The payment, he said, was part of the agreement reached with Mr. Lujan.

Judge Munson in April issued a temporary restraining order immediately after the filing of his complaint to prevent the money in question from being stashed in Cook Islands where Junior’s share are being kept.

Based on court documents, Mr. Lujan handed $400,000 to the court days following Mr. Farber’s claims in a bid to settle the dispute which led to the plaintiff abandoning his “anticipatory repudiation claim.”

But the June 23 ruling stated that the claim for breach of contract remains unresolved as the actual money allegedly owed to Mr. Farber has yet been settled.

According the Judge Munson, the summary judgment cannot be granted to the defendant if the issues remain clouded in light of the ambiguity of the written agreement and other facts are in question.

Mr. Lujan, through his lawyers on Saipan, claimed a payment amounting to $200,000 was made to the plaintiff in November 1999 towards settlement of the $600,000 bonus fee.

This led to two plausible interpretations of the agreement, said Judge Munson. “A partial summary judgment is not appropriate because the court would improperly have to weigh the evidence,” he said in his ruling.

He added that the order for an amended complaint reflecting the $400,000 payment would clearly set subsequent events since the filing of the suit.

Junior, 15 and whose mother is from Palau, received $11.3 million in the final distribution completed last April 29.

Mr. Hillblom died in a seaplane crash on May 21, 1995 near Anatahan Island, a small island north of Saipan.