Legendary Hollywood actor Paul Newman's two daughters filed a lawsuit against the family foundation on Tuesday, August 23, claiming that the legacy of their late dad is under assault by the organization, according to the New York Post.
Susan Newman and Elinor "Nell" Newman sued Newman's Own Foundation for breach of fiduciary duty. According to the filing in Connecticut state court, the sisters alleged that the board of directors had ignored their father's wishes by cutting the money they each received to charity.
The suit stated that Mr. Paul Newman granted to Newman's Own Foundation the rights to his name, image, likeness, and other publicity and intellectual property rights, but not unconditionally.
Sisters claim foundation slashed their supposed allocation in half
The suit also stated that Newman made that grant on the condition that Newman's Own Foundation allocates $400,000 yearly to each of his daughters' foundations. The money will be used to donate to charities identified by them pursuant to specific rules that Newman established, according to the Associated Press.
The lawsuit claimed that the foundation's board of directors slashed the yearly amount each of the two daughters receives to direct charitable donations from $400,000 to $200,000. The renowned philanthropist and actor created the Newman's Own Foundation three years before he passed away in 2008.
The nonprofit organization controls the Newman's Own Inc. food company that funds the private foundation via its after-tax profits. The suit claimed that in the years since Mr. Newman's death, there had been a long and consistent pattern of disregard by those in control of his specific intentions and direction. This had been coupled with mismanagement, scandal, and questionable practices, according to the lawsuit.
Sisters asking for $1.6 million in damages
According to the suit, the star's legacy is being attacked by the very organization that he founded in an effort to preserve and expand it. Susan and Elinor, who are not members of the board of directors, are seeking a total of $1.6 million in damages to be donated to the charities of their own choosing, according to People Magazine. The sisters are also looking for a judgment that requires the foundation to abide by what they say were their father's wishes.
The two sisters' lawyer Andy Lee issued a statement, saying that this lawsuit does not seek personal compensation for the daughters of Mr. Newman but seeks to hold Newman's Own Foundation accountable to the charities they have shortchanged in the past years.
Paul Newman's widow, actress Joanne Woodward, and three other daughters of the Hollywood legend are not part of the lawsuit against the foundation. The other members declined to comment, according to a spokesman for the Newman family.
A spokesman for the foundation said that the sisters' filing is a meritless lawsuit based on this faulty wish that would only divert money away from those who benefit from the generosity of Paul Newman.
