Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., has joined the CBC Law Group in ongoing litigation on behalf of the family of Gerald Kessler, founder of natural products industry Natural Organics, Inc. over control of the Gerald Kessler Revocable Trust. Mr. Kessler passed away in March of this year at the age of 80, leaving an estate believed to be valued at more than $800 million.
In dispute is an Amendment created in 2013 to the Gerald A. Kessler Revocable Trust that gives Melanie Kay Williams (an actress also known by the stage name Meadow Williams) control over almost all of his assets as Trustee. It further established her as, essentially, the sole and exclusive beneficiary of the estate. The 2013 Trust Amendment would cut the Kessler family out of the estate almost entirely. The Petition filed on behalf of the Kessler family alleges Ms. Williams, who is 31 years younger than Mr. Kessler, manipulated and unduly influenced him to execute new estate planning documents through actions including bigamy, undue influence and elder abuse.
After the death of Gerald Kessler, Ms. Williams attempted to evict Gerald Kessler’s grandson, Marshall Kessler, from the Treeview Property in New York, an estate owned by Gerald Kessler, but the CBC Law Group filed an emergency motion to stay that action, which was granted by the Court. Ms. Williams has filed a petition asking the Court to confirm her as Trustee. A hearing on that matter is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5.
“We are proud to be working with the CBC Law Group and Nevada firm Holland and Hart on this important case and look forward to fighting for Gerald Kessler’s legacy,” said W. Daniel “Dee” Miles, III, Principal & Head of the Consumer Fraud section at Beasley Allen.
Beasley Allen lawyers Dee Miles, Lance Gould, and Leslie Pescia are working with David J. Callahan, III, managing partner of the CBC Law Group, and Constance L. Akridge and Tamara Reid from Holland & Hart LLP in Reno, Nev. The complaint is filed in the Second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, in and for the County of Washoe. Plaintiffs are Marshall Kessler, Sheree Kessler, Craig Kessler, Steven Kessler, Kaleigh Kessler, Krystal Ferrari, Michael Kessler, and Shawn Kessler.
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