The heirs of philanthropist Edward Wisner have lost their latest courtroom fight to continue reaping the benefits of a century-old trust that controls 52,000 acres of valuable Louisiana coastline.
A panel of five judges with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that Wisner intended the Wisner Donation Trust to end on Aug. 4, 2014 and that Mayor Mitch Landrieu need not be removed as the fund’s trustee under its by-laws or state law.
The court also upheld Zeno’s previous ruling that the advisory committee was a public body and subject to open meetings laws, a point the Wisner heirs had long contested.
That decision, for the most part, upheld the previous ruling of Civil District Judge Pro Tempore Melvin Zeno. The appellate court did differ in one regard: it ruled that Landrieu needed the approval of the trust’s advisory committee in order to disperse the city’s share of the trust’s annual proceeds — an obligation Landrieu disputes and has openly flouted as he delivered grants to his administration’s handpicked charities and causes every year.
It remains uncertain what happens next: whether the heirs will appeal to the state Supreme Court or whether the assets of the trust will be divided among its beneficiaries. City Attorney Sharonda Williams couldn’t be immediately reached and the Wisner heirs’ attorney, Dan Lund, declined to comment Friday.
The fund generates about $8 million a year in proceeds, a large share of which goes to the city. The rest is divided among Wisner’s heirs, the Salvation Army, Tulane University and the former Charity Hospital, which is controlled by LSU.
Click here to download case file (PDF)
A panel of five judges with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that Wisner intended the Wisner Donation Trust to end on Aug. 4, 2014 and that Mayor Mitch Landrieu need not be removed as the fund’s trustee under its by-laws or state law.
The court also upheld Zeno’s previous ruling that the advisory committee was a public body and subject to open meetings laws, a point the Wisner heirs had long contested.
That decision, for the most part, upheld the previous ruling of Civil District Judge Pro Tempore Melvin Zeno. The appellate court did differ in one regard: it ruled that Landrieu needed the approval of the trust’s advisory committee in order to disperse the city’s share of the trust’s annual proceeds — an obligation Landrieu disputes and has openly flouted as he delivered grants to his administration’s handpicked charities and causes every year.
It remains uncertain what happens next: whether the heirs will appeal to the state Supreme Court or whether the assets of the trust will be divided among its beneficiaries. City Attorney Sharonda Williams couldn’t be immediately reached and the Wisner heirs’ attorney, Dan Lund, declined to comment Friday.
The fund generates about $8 million a year in proceeds, a large share of which goes to the city. The rest is divided among Wisner’s heirs, the Salvation Army, Tulane University and the former Charity Hospital, which is controlled by LSU.
Click here to download case file (PDF)
The Wisner case is a long and convoluted one. Edward Wisner established the trust in 1914 to support his favorite charities. He died the next year. His widow and two daughters later sued, leading to a compromise in 1929 that allowed them and their descendents to receive 40 percent of the trust’s annual proceeds. The City Council then established the trust’s advisory council in 1931.Wisner gave the trust a 100-year lifespan at its inception. But his heirs’ attorneys have argued that an obscure state law passed in 1920 made all charitable trusts, including their ancestor’s, perpetual. The appellate court disagreed, explaining that the law could not supersede Wisner’s expressed desire to end the trust in August 2014.
Richard Rainey
September 19, 2014
The Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/09/mayor_mitch_landrieu_wins_late.html
Attribution:
Mayor Mitch Landrieu wins latest round in Wisner Trust caseRichard Rainey
September 19, 2014
The Times-Picayune
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/09/mayor_mitch_landrieu_wins_late.html
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