Bradford Lund, Grand-Son of Walt Disney, Seeks Removal of Court-Appointed Limited Guardian Ad Litem in Probate Proceeding Because of Alleged Secret Meeting

LOS ANGELES, March 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys for Mr. Lund have now filed a motion in the probate court seeking to remove the limited guardian ad litem (GAL) appointed by the court to represent Mr. Lund in litigation involving the estate of Walt Disney. This GAL was appointed over Mr. Lund's objection and is now accused of violating her fiduciary duties to Mr. Lund by holding secret meetings with the trustees without Mr. Lund's knowledge or consent or the knowledge and consent of his counsel.

A limited GAL was appointed in this case to represent Mr. Lund in the proceedings before the probate court after the judge rejected a part of the Global settlement (deeming it null and void) reached by Mr. Lund and the trustees. According to the motion, that appointment was made despite Mr. Lund's objections that since he was adjudged competent by an Arizona court, he should not be forced to have a limited GAL in this proceeding at all. This motion reiterates that objection as well as lays out new grounds to remove the limited GAL based on her behavior since being appointed:

"The Trustees admitted in their filed Response that they had met with the limited GAL and the 730 Expert to begin the process of arranging meetings with alternative corporate trustees…In Mr. Lund's Reply to such Response, he asserted the impropriety involved in such secret meetings…Not until the hearing on February 28th in this Court did it become even more clear that the limited GAL, Trustees, and the financial expert (Michael Seibert) had met in secret and behind Mr. Lund's back (and behind the back of all of his counsel as well) in an attempt to renegotiate the settlement agreement (which Mr. Lund asserts is now null and void)...Neither the Trustees nor the limited GAL ever informed Mr. Lund, or any of his attorneys, that such meetings were taking place." – Motion to Disqualify Margaret Lodise as GAL, page 2.

Mr. Lund's motion contends this behavior violates the limited GAL's fiduciary duty she owes to Mr. Lund and seeks to have her removed  together with seeking a court order prohibiting such future secret meetings:

"The limited GAL has breached the fiduciary duties owed to Mr. Lund. Such a breach should result in the removal of the limited GAL. Alternatively and in addition to said request for removal, Mr. Lund also requests an immediate order from this Court that no discussions or meetings of any kind for the purpose of attempting to renegotiate the settlement agreement that Mr. Lund signed without notice to him and his counsel." – Motion to Disqualify Margaret Lodise as GAL, page 6.

On February 27, 2020, Mr. Lund also filed a federal civil rights case in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Judge David Cowan for alleged violation of Mr. Lund's constitutional due process rights in the appointment of the limited GAL. Lanny J. Davis, co-counsel of record for Mr. Lund in the U.S. federal court civil rights case, stated the following about why he joined the legal team:

"When I served as special counsel to President Bill Clinton in 1996-98, I came to know the late Attorney General Janet Reno as a personal friend. She once said to me: 'I don't serve as a top prosecutor – I serve as the head of the Department of Justice' – with the word 'justice' emphasized in Attorney General Reno's voice. She continued: 'That means I and all the prosecutors I supervise in the country not only have a duty to enforce the law – we all have a duty to be fair and compassionate and to do justice in all our official decisions.'"

For attribution to Lanny J. Davis, co-counsel of record for Mr. Lund in the U.S. federal court civil rights case Lund v. Honorable David J. Cowan

CONTACT: Alex Lange, [email protected]  

SOURCE Lanny Davis