Deceased Warren man's sons gain $500,000 jury verdict in estate battle
A Probate Court jury awarded $500,000 to the two sons from the wife of their deceased Warren father in a battle over his estate.
The Macomb County panel also ruled that Mariya Wintoniw committed civil fraud, conversion and unjust enrichment by unduly influencing Iwan Hlywa during their five-year marriage before he died at 84 in 2011.
“We’ve so happy that everything we have been fighting for came to complete fruition today,” said Julie Hlywa, an attorney who is Iwan Hlywa’s granddaughter and plaintiff Steve Hlywa’s daughter. “It was an uphill battle to fight for what was right. For my grandpa, I just feel he’s smiling down on us right now. It makes me so happy that he knows what we did and fought for him.
“He was taken advantage of, and we fought for her to be held responsible for that.”
“We’re thrilled,” said Nina Korkis, one of two attorneys for the plaintiffs.
“She married him for his money,” said plaintiff co-counsel Patrick McQueeney.
Wintoniw, 73, of Warren, was accused of taking $545,000 of her husband’s money and transferring $340,000 of it to her native country, Ukraine.
The jury not only awarded more than 90 percent of it returned to Steve and Nick Hlywa but found that she illegally influenced him to give her the money, and sign a will and revocation of a prenuptial agreement three months before he died.
The jury gave an advisory opinion to Judge Carl Marlinga that Wintoniw also illegally influenced her husband to sign over five of his properties to her, including two homes on Republic Street in Warren, a farm parcel near Belleville containing two homes and two vacant parcels. Hlywa’s sixth property, a third house on Republic, is owned by Steve Hlywa.
Marlinga will set a date for his decision on the properties.
The seven-person jury deliberated about 10 hours over two days before delivering its decision, following a three-week trial.
Wintoniw’s attorney, Walter Czechowski, declined to comment afterward. Wintoniw did not react outwardly to the verdict and solemnly left the courthouse with her attorney and two friends.
Czechowski argued during the trial that Wintoniw only influenced Hlywa as much as a typical spouse does and that the family was only frustrated because they could not retroactively control how she and her husband spent his money.
One key to the case was Wintoniw’s own testimony that required three days to complete, prolonged by the use of an interpreter due to her presumed lack of English proficiency that plaintiff attorneys said she was exaggerating. Her testimony also was lengthened because jurors submitted more than 100 questions to her.
“She was very inconsistent,” Korkis said. “If you‘re telling the truth, you’re not inconsistent.”
Of the $340,000 sent to Wintoniw’s children in Ukraine, Wintoniw influenced her husband to withdraw $160,000 before they created a joint credit union account after which she was free to access.
Other funds she took were in the form of CDs, bonds and cash, the plaintiffs said.
The award breakdown is $200,000 for fraud and conversion involving the wire transfers to Ukraine, $100,000 for unjust enrichment and $100,000 for general damages.
To collect some of the award, the plaintiffs should be able to access over $200,000 in Wintoniw’s accounts that Julie Hlywa said was frozen pending the outcome of the case.
Steve Hlywa said he hopes the case will help inform others about the potential vulnerability of elderly loved ones and their assets.
“Hopefully they can stop it before something like this happens,” he said.
The Macomb County panel also ruled that Mariya Wintoniw committed civil fraud, conversion and unjust enrichment by unduly influencing Iwan Hlywa during their five-year marriage before he died at 84 in 2011.
“We’ve so happy that everything we have been fighting for came to complete fruition today,” said Julie Hlywa, an attorney who is Iwan Hlywa’s granddaughter and plaintiff Steve Hlywa’s daughter. “It was an uphill battle to fight for what was right. For my grandpa, I just feel he’s smiling down on us right now. It makes me so happy that he knows what we did and fought for him.
“He was taken advantage of, and we fought for her to be held responsible for that.”
“We’re thrilled,” said Nina Korkis, one of two attorneys for the plaintiffs.
“She married him for his money,” said plaintiff co-counsel Patrick McQueeney.
Wintoniw, 73, of Warren, was accused of taking $545,000 of her husband’s money and transferring $340,000 of it to her native country, Ukraine.
The jury not only awarded more than 90 percent of it returned to Steve and Nick Hlywa but found that she illegally influenced him to give her the money, and sign a will and revocation of a prenuptial agreement three months before he died.
The jury gave an advisory opinion to Judge Carl Marlinga that Wintoniw also illegally influenced her husband to sign over five of his properties to her, including two homes on Republic Street in Warren, a farm parcel near Belleville containing two homes and two vacant parcels. Hlywa’s sixth property, a third house on Republic, is owned by Steve Hlywa.
Marlinga will set a date for his decision on the properties.
The seven-person jury deliberated about 10 hours over two days before delivering its decision, following a three-week trial.
Wintoniw’s attorney, Walter Czechowski, declined to comment afterward. Wintoniw did not react outwardly to the verdict and solemnly left the courthouse with her attorney and two friends.
Czechowski argued during the trial that Wintoniw only influenced Hlywa as much as a typical spouse does and that the family was only frustrated because they could not retroactively control how she and her husband spent his money.
One key to the case was Wintoniw’s own testimony that required three days to complete, prolonged by the use of an interpreter due to her presumed lack of English proficiency that plaintiff attorneys said she was exaggerating. Her testimony also was lengthened because jurors submitted more than 100 questions to her.
“She was very inconsistent,” Korkis said. “If you‘re telling the truth, you’re not inconsistent.”
Of the $340,000 sent to Wintoniw’s children in Ukraine, Wintoniw influenced her husband to withdraw $160,000 before they created a joint credit union account after which she was free to access.
Other funds she took were in the form of CDs, bonds and cash, the plaintiffs said.
The award breakdown is $200,000 for fraud and conversion involving the wire transfers to Ukraine, $100,000 for unjust enrichment and $100,000 for general damages.
To collect some of the award, the plaintiffs should be able to access over $200,000 in Wintoniw’s accounts that Julie Hlywa said was frozen pending the outcome of the case.
Steve Hlywa said he hopes the case will help inform others about the potential vulnerability of elderly loved ones and their assets.
“Hopefully they can stop it before something like this happens,” he said.
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