Bill Graham was a famous concert promoter who died in a helicopter
crash in 1991. His estate sold his company, Bill Graham Enterprises,
in 1997. Prior to selling the company, the estate transferred his
copyrights and trademarks, including the rights to famous concert
posters, to the company. His sons, who each inherited $10 million, sued the executor in Federal Court in 2010 for not disclosing the sale to
them. The sons allegedly discovered the sale while rummaging through
their father's business records in '09. The suit was initially
dismissed because the 4 year statute of limitations had long expired,
but the 9th Circuit said that the case may proceed to trial.
Several points:
1.
Probate is a state court matter. I do not know why this is in federal
court unless the attorneys were counting on the 9th Circuit to make an
out of left field ruling in their favor.
2. Of course a business transaction that looks good in 1997 might be viewed as less savvy in 2010.
3.
I suspect that the sons had depleted most of their inheritance and were
actually rummaging for dollars when they "discovered" the sale of the
property.
