Recent Forum Topics › Forums › The Rams Huddle › more hot trending owner gossip news: Tom Benson disowns daughter
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May 23, 2016 at 8:34 am #44528
znModeratorTom Benson on heirs: ‘they didn’t love me very much, trying to stab me in the back’
Saints owner Tom Benson testified that a family fight at the Superdome in December 2014 that turned physical against his wife was the “final blow” that convinced him to disown his daughter and two grandchildren and reverse his plans for willing his sports empire to them, Katherine Sayre of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Benson, 88, was questioned in a deposition March 28-29, and part of the transcript of his testimony was filed in federal court this week. The deposition is part of Benson’s lawsuit seeking to remove ownership in the Saints and Pelicans from trust funds created for his daughter Renee Benson and grandchildren Rita and Ryan LeBlanc.
In the deposition, Benson describes a Dec. 21, 2014 confrontation in his Superdome box between the three would-be heirs and his third wife, Gayle Benson. Benson now plans to leave full ownership of the teams to her, which he announced Jan. 21, 2015.
“I think Renee and Rita and maybe Ryan was there too, came over to our suite and started saying things,” Benson said. “I’m trying to watch a football game. And they started picking on Gayle. And it got so bad, Renee shook her, and I said, ‘That’s enough, let’s go.’ Gayle and I left the game.”
Previous accounts of the confrontation identified Rita LeBlanc, who was being groomed to take over the Saints, as the person who shook Gayle Benson.
An attorney, whose identity is unclear, asked Benson what his lawsuit is trying to do with his estranged relatives’ trust funds:
Benson: “Well, I want to take the money out of them that would have gotten in there.”
Attorney: “And leave what?”
Benson: “Zero … they attacked me, you got to know. That’s why I don’t want to leave them anything. Okay?”
Later on in the deposition, the attorney asks whether Benson would like to leave “zero dollars in the trust.”
Benson: “Well, I found out they didn’t love me very much, trying to stab me in the back, wanted to take over everything, brought me to court saying I was crazy. You don’t need any more than that.”
May 23, 2016 at 10:41 am #44532
bnwBlockedI like the lack of ambiguity here unlike the gossip mill with Rosendope and his son and Georgia. At least Benson left zero doubt. BTW how stupid can his daughter and grandkids be?
The upside to being a Rams fan is heartbreak.
Sprinkles are for winners.
May 23, 2016 at 12:33 pm #44536
ZooeyModeratorWhen I first saw this, I thought it would be great if Benson left the team to the city of New Orleans, so it could be owned the way the Packers are.
But I think I remember reading somewhere a year or two ago that the league made it illegal for any teams other than the Packers to be owned that way.
May 23, 2016 at 12:40 pm #44538znModeratorBut I think I remember reading somewhere a year or two ago that the league made it illegal for any teams other than the Packers to be owned that way.
That’s correct.
So ole Tom, he’s going to have to sell when the time comes.
As the Chip situations shows us, heirs usually can’t afford estate taxes anyway.
So, NFL ownership means build a stadium then sell before you die.
May 23, 2016 at 12:56 pm #44540ZooeyModeratorSo, NFL ownership means build a stadium then sell before you die.
Then donate all the money so there is nothing left for the heirs who would sue over the estate. And I bet he won’t do that because nobody wants to give away their fortune while they are still alive.
June 4, 2016 at 10:41 pm #45391znModeratorHeirship controversy
In January 2015, after Tom Benson announced that he had cut his estranged adopted daughter Renee Benson and her adult children out of his will, he was sued by Renee and Renee’s two children, Rita LeBlanc (also known as Rita Benson LeBlanc) and Ryan LeBlanc of Texas. One of Renee, Rita and Ryan’s complaints in the lawsuit is “Upon information and belief, under the apparent supervision of Gayle, the diet of Tom Benson has drastically deteriorated, with him rarely consuming full, nutritious meals, but instead, for some reason, subsisting on candy, ice cream, sodas, and red wine.” Renee Benson, Rita LeBlanc and Ryan LeBlanc are suing for control of Tom Benson’s companies including the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s Pelicans, claiming he is “incompetent”.
Tom Benson released a statement saying that the lawsuit and claims against him by his adoptive daughter and her children are false and meritless.[50] In February 2015, Probate Court Judge Tom Rickhoff named former San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger and attorney Art Bayern as co-executors of the testamentary trust of Shirley L. Benson. The two replace Benson as trustees of the estate. On June 18, 2015, a judge found him competent.
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Tom Benson’s Saints lawsuit headed for trial, judge keeps NFL records public
Tom Benson’s lawsuit to remove his estranged family from ownership in the Saints and Pelicans is headed for a June 20 trial after a federal judge denied a final attempt to have the case dismissed Friday, Katherine Sayre of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo also denied Benson’s request to have 88 exhibits sealed from public access, including internal NFL records of previous team sales and quarterly reports and Benson’s personal finances.
The documents are being introduced by two trustees Benson is suing in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The trustees, San Antonio lawyers Robert Rosenthal and Mary Rowe, and the billionaire team owner are at odds over Benson’s attempt to remove Saints and Pelicans stock from trust funds he created for his daughter and two grandchildren.
Milazzo will decide the case after a bench trial expected to last five days.
Benson is suing to remove stock that accounts for 60 percent of the Saints and 95 percent of the Pelicans from trust funds created for his daughter, Renee Benson, and grandchildren, Rita and Ryan LeBlanc. The trusts were created when the family members were still on good terms.
Benson disavowed Renee Benson and Rita and Ryan LeBlanc in December 2014. He announced publicly the following month that he’s handing everything over to his wife, Gayle Benson. As part of that deal, Benson is taking advantage of a move that’s allowed by the trusts: removing ownership stock from the trusts in exchange for other assets of equal value.
The trial will focus on the market value of the Saints and Pelicans and the value of the promissory notes with interest that Benson is offering in exchange.
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