|
|
King Children Sue Dexter King over Father's Estate
 Two of the Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr.'s children are suing their brother, accusing him of wrongfully
taking money from their parents' estates. Bernice King and Martin
Luther King III allege that Dexter King took "substantial funds" out of
Coretta Scott King's estate and "wrongfully appropriated" money from
their father's estate. The suit, filed Thursday in Fulton County
Superior Court, serves as a very public fissure in an iconic family
that has always professed unity, particularly as questions have swirled
around some of their financial dealings.
In a written statement Friday, Dexter King called the suit "inappropriate and false."
"I'm disappointed that our personal family disagreement, as it relates
to the family business, has evolved into being handled in a public
legal forum," he said.
"It is my hope that this inappropriate and false claim by my siblings
will be swiftly resolved and we can go about the business of focusing
on our parents' tremendous legacy."
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April 1968 in
Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead garbage workers on a protest
march.
King's wife, Coretta Scott King, also devoted her life to the civil rights movement, died in 2006.
Attorneys for Bernice King and Martin Luther King III would not say
Friday how much money they are accusing Dexter King of taking from
their mother's estate.
Bernice King is the administrator of that estate. Dexter King, the suit
says, controls their father's estate, which is registered as a Georgia
corporation.
All three children are shareholders in that corporation.
The lawsuit names Dexter King and the corporation as defendants. It
alleges that last month, the defendants "converted substantial funds
from the estate's financial account at Bank of America for their own
use."
Harmon Caldwell, an Atlanta attorney representing the plaintiffs, said
Dexter King is a signatory on the account, but "was not authorized to
transfer the funds," and gave his sister "no notice that those funds
were being transferred."
The suit says that as a result of the transfer, "plaintiffs have and will suffer financial loss."
The lawsuit lists Bernice King as a plaintiff both individually and as administrator of their mother's estate.
Separately, the suit says Dexter King "has wrongfully appropriated
assets belonging to the [estate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.] or
its shareholders for his own benefit."
Caldwell said Dexter King has refused to say what has happened with some of the corporation's money.
"I can't tell you that he's gone out and used corporate assets for his
own living expenses," the attorney said. "What I can tell you for
certainty is that by not providing Martin and Bernice with information
about how the corporation is using its assets, he is essentially using
those assets, appropriating those assets for his own benefit."
The plaintiffs' attorneys would not estimate the size of either estate.
But one, Jock Smith, noted that a collection of King's manuscripts and
other items was sold in 2006 for a reported $32 million.
"I don't think it was a substantial corporation of any sort before that," Smith said.
Over the years, the family of the civil rights leader has zealously
protected its financial interests, at times taking legal steps even
against news media for showing some of King's most famous speeches.
In 2005, some news agencies reported on the King Center, a nonprofit,
having put millions of dollars into a for-profit business run by Dexter
King. The family rejected allegations of wrongdoing, and has generally
pushed to keep financial matters private.
Smith said his clients made repeated efforts to reach out to their brother in recent weeks before deciding to take legal action.
Smith agreed with the suggestion that it was emotionally tough for the King children to file the suit.
"That would be the understatement of the year, Smith said.
Rate this Article:
Tell
Us What You Think.
|
|
|
Subscribe to Our RSS Feed