Saints, Pelicans owner Tom Benson to be deposed in team ownership dispute
FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 file photo, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson watches from the sideline before an NFL preseason football game against the Houston Texans in New Orleans.(AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman, File) (Jonathan Bachman)
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on March 15, 2016 at 10:06 AM, updated March 15, 2016 at 10:24 AM
Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson is expected to be deposed soon in his lawsuit seeking to take back his estranged heirs' ownership in the teams, part of the ongoing bitter Benson family feud.
But when, and for how long the 88-year-old billionaire with health problems must undergo questioning is in dispute among lawyers in the case, according to court records.
The litigation centers on whether Benson can remove ownership shares in the Saints and Pelicans from trusts he created for his daughter, Renee Benson, and grandchildren, Rita and Ryan LeBlanc, when he still planned to leave his empire to them. Tom Benson has since disowned the trio and instead plans to pass the teams to his third wife, Gayle Benson.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Wilkinson in New Orleans is scheduled to consider the deposition issue in a hearing Wednesday (March 16). The deposition would be Benson's first in-court testimony in the tangle of litigation that ensued after Benson announced his change in succession in January 2015.
Tom Benson sued two trustees guarding his estranged family's trust funds who rejected Benson's attempt to remove the team shares and replace the assets with mostly promissory notes.
In preparing for a June 20 trial, lawyers for the trustees are seeking to depose Tom Benson for up to seven hours, spread over three days, beginning as soon as March 24, according to court records.
Tom Benson's lawyers are asking for a maximum of five hours of questioning, split in half over two days, based on a doctor's recommendation filed in court.
Dr. Stephen Ramee of the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute said Benson is being treated for "multiple ongoing cardiac conditions" and is in physical therapy for recent health problems. "A deposition will be stressful for him and could cause him harm," Ramee said.
Benson's lawyers also contend that his deposition shouldn't be scheduled until mid-April, after nearly all other witnesses are first deposed. The list includes Renee Benson, Rita LeBlanc and Saints president Dennis Lauscha, among a dozen others.
Lawyers for the trustees, Robert Rosenthal and Mary Rowe, argue in court filings that Benson can't "unilaterally dictate" a limit of five hours of questioning, and there's no reason Benson shouldn't be among the first to be questioned. They argue that "many protections and courtesies have already been extended" to Benson for the deposition.
"The full seven hours may not be necessary to complete Benson's deposition, but it is inappropriate for his counsel to refuse to make him available for that time, in the event that defense counsel determines that it is necessary to continue the deposition into a third day," the filing says.
Benson's lawyers also want the judge to ban questions on several topics, including any loans or money transfers to Benson from his companies, Benson's history with any banks or lenders, and any power of attorney that Benson granted to anyone.
Benson signed power-of-attorney documents giving Gayle Benson decision-making over his medical care, and Saints and Pelicans President Dennis Lauscha joint power over his businesses. Renee Benson and Rita and Ryan LeBlanc, in separate litigation, claim Gayle Benson and Saints executives are manipulating Tom Benson and taking advantage of his declining mental state.
In January, Benson was ordered to be deposed in a lawsuit in San Antonio filed by his daughter, who questioned her father's ability to watch over the family fortune in Texas, including car dealerships and a bank. Before the deposition, though, father and daughter reached a settlement that Renee Benson would take over for her father as trustee over the disputed trust fund.
Renee Benson and Rita and Ryan LeBlanc also filed a lawsuit last year in New Orleans seeking to have the patriarch declared incompetent to manage his own affairs. A judge ruled Tom Benson competent after a closed-door trial last June. The heirs appealed that ruling, arguing that Benson, who did not testify at trial, should have been required to take witness stand.
The litigation over the team ownership in the trusts involves only non-voting, non-controlling shares of the teams. Tom Benson remains sole owner of the controlling shares.
But when, and for how long the 88-year-old billionaire with health problems must undergo questioning is in dispute among lawyers in the case, according to court records.
The litigation centers on whether Benson can remove ownership shares in the Saints and Pelicans from trusts he created for his daughter, Renee Benson, and grandchildren, Rita and Ryan LeBlanc, when he still planned to leave his empire to them. Tom Benson has since disowned the trio and instead plans to pass the teams to his third wife, Gayle Benson.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Wilkinson in New Orleans is scheduled to consider the deposition issue in a hearing Wednesday (March 16). The deposition would be Benson's first in-court testimony in the tangle of litigation that ensued after Benson announced his change in succession in January 2015.
Tom Benson sued two trustees guarding his estranged family's trust funds who rejected Benson's attempt to remove the team shares and replace the assets with mostly promissory notes.
In preparing for a June 20 trial, lawyers for the trustees are seeking to depose Tom Benson for up to seven hours, spread over three days, beginning as soon as March 24, according to court records.
Tom Benson's lawyers are asking for a maximum of five hours of questioning, split in half over two days, based on a doctor's recommendation filed in court.
Dr. Stephen Ramee of the Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute said Benson is being treated for "multiple ongoing cardiac conditions" and is in physical therapy for recent health problems. "A deposition will be stressful for him and could cause him harm," Ramee said.
Benson's lawyers also contend that his deposition shouldn't be scheduled until mid-April, after nearly all other witnesses are first deposed. The list includes Renee Benson, Rita LeBlanc and Saints president Dennis Lauscha, among a dozen others.
Lawyers for the trustees, Robert Rosenthal and Mary Rowe, argue in court filings that Benson can't "unilaterally dictate" a limit of five hours of questioning, and there's no reason Benson shouldn't be among the first to be questioned. They argue that "many protections and courtesies have already been extended" to Benson for the deposition.
"The full seven hours may not be necessary to complete Benson's deposition, but it is inappropriate for his counsel to refuse to make him available for that time, in the event that defense counsel determines that it is necessary to continue the deposition into a third day," the filing says.
Benson's lawyers also want the judge to ban questions on several topics, including any loans or money transfers to Benson from his companies, Benson's history with any banks or lenders, and any power of attorney that Benson granted to anyone.
Benson signed power-of-attorney documents giving Gayle Benson decision-making over his medical care, and Saints and Pelicans President Dennis Lauscha joint power over his businesses. Renee Benson and Rita and Ryan LeBlanc, in separate litigation, claim Gayle Benson and Saints executives are manipulating Tom Benson and taking advantage of his declining mental state.
In January, Benson was ordered to be deposed in a lawsuit in San Antonio filed by his daughter, who questioned her father's ability to watch over the family fortune in Texas, including car dealerships and a bank. Before the deposition, though, father and daughter reached a settlement that Renee Benson would take over for her father as trustee over the disputed trust fund.
Renee Benson and Rita and Ryan LeBlanc also filed a lawsuit last year in New Orleans seeking to have the patriarch declared incompetent to manage his own affairs. A judge ruled Tom Benson competent after a closed-door trial last June. The heirs appealed that ruling, arguing that Benson, who did not testify at trial, should have been required to take witness stand.
The litigation over the team ownership in the trusts involves only non-voting, non-controlling shares of the teams. Tom Benson remains sole owner of the controlling shares.
