The 15-year-long legal property dispute between late Anna Nicole Smith and her late husband’s dead son E. Pierce Marshall seems to have come to an end, with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of the latter, saying that the late elderly Texas billionaire had left everything for his son, nothing for Smith, in his will.
It has been a long time since Smith and Pierce died while the case was still sub judice, which continued despite their death. While Pierce’s wife and two sons have carried forward the legal battle on his behalf, Smith’s ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead has been representing her in the court, though there have been charges against him for having provided thousands of prescription pills to the former model that led to her death.
Smith had married the billionaire J. Howard Marshall, then 89, a year before his death. After his death, Smith had filed for a share in his enormous property, saying that her deceased husband had promised her $300 million as property. However, the latter’s will had clearly bequeathed his son, Pierce Marshall, all his property. But Smith complained that her deceased husband was mentally unfit and, therefore, Piece had unduly pressured him into signing the will in his name. Thus she continued to fight the legal battle to get hold of her dead husband’s property.
While the case was still pending, Smith filed for bankruptcy in Los Angeles, alleging that her dead husband had promised her a large share in his mammoth property. She succeeded to some extent, when the bankruptcy court awarded her $474.75 million in 2000. However, in 2002, a federal district court judge reduced the amount to $89.5 million.
Even in 2002, a jury had ruled that Smith’s deceased husband was mentally fit and was in no way under duress. Smith continued to fight the legal battle. She died in 2008 but Larry Birkhead continued fighting her case.
The recent ruling by the federal appeals court seems to have ended the 19-year-long struggle. Smith’s attorney Kent Richland has vowed to appeal to the higher court in this regard.
