Troubles between the family and the management

[Joe Way]

I have some news to share. We just learned that my daughter Katie & her husband, Jeremiah of whom some of you might remember for the 2004 New York Event will be living in Germany for seven months beginning in June for his sabbatical leave. I don't know the name of the town yet, but it is close to the border with Belgium.

This will mean that Anne & I will be spending more time in Europe which we look forward to with delight.

Joe

[dar]

What a wonderful reason to keep on globetrotting. Enjoy it!

[HugoD]

Monday the trial is set to start. Had hoped that there could be a sort of agreement between parties but that has not happened (or did it? ).
To our US friends: is there a way to follow the proceedings ? There is something like court tv and or can this public trial be followed elsewhere?

[dar]

I tried to do a bit of research from my home in Sacramento, CA. Hugo. The case is in probate court at Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Div. 11., Case #23STCV10395. (This is all public info.) Some of the sites with more info have paywalls which I didn't want to pay. Looks like there has been a continuance filed for Monday; I think. When I have time I'll try to look into things some more or you might be able to find info too. Check out LA Superior Court website to search a case by number. I'm very interested in the outcome of the case out of respect for Leonard's wishes and his family's fight against Kory. I'm sure the whole thing is complicated, hence the expensive lawyers.

[hydriot]

the main reason i reactivated this column is because i read in an article (link above) that leonard's son, and not his daughter, is now the owner of his house on hydra. at first i assumed it must be a misprint, but further on down the article it says yet again that adam is the owner.

I read the article and it doesn't state that Lorca is not also the owner, or that Adam is the sole owner. The article is a piece of puff in support of Adam's career, and that's fine, but I wouldn'r read anything into the phrasing.

[pim]

I tried to do a bit of research from my home in Sacramento, CA. Hugo. The case is in probate court at Stanley Mosk Courthouse, Div. 11., Case #23STCV10395. (This is all public info.) Some of the sites with more info have paywalls which I didn't want to pay. Looks like there has been a continuance filed for Monday; I think. When I have time I'll try to look into things some more or you might be able to find info too. Check out LA Superior Court website to search a case by number. I'm very interested in the outcome of the case out of respect for Leonard's wishes and his family's fight against Kory. I'm sure the whole thing is complicated, hence the expensive lawyers.

Did some research too. The case number is not the one Dar mentioned, but #22STCV09638. With that number you can find some public info on the website of the LA Superior Court (https://www.lacourt.org). Next session is planned for April 23, 2025.

[Blaz]

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-a ... iter-trust

[Geoffrey]

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-a ... iter-trust

that was interesting, but doesn't really say very much more than what everybody already knew. it gives no news about what is happening, any dates about when the next legal step is to be taken - or what the conclusion is likely to be. one gets the impression that the whole saga is just being dragged out indefinitely. surely it's time for a decision to be made so that everybody can move on.

[LisaLCFan]

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-a ... iter-trust

that was interesting, but doesn't really say very much more than what everybody already knew. it gives no news about what is happening, any dates about when the next legal step is to be taken - or what the conclusion is likely to be...

If I am not mistaken, it appears that a brand new lawsuit has been filed by Adam Cohen and Lorca Cohen (on or around 4 Feb 2025), against different parties than those from the previous lawsuit (i.e., they are suing someone else, now). There was no indication, that I could ascertain, of an outcome from their previous lawsuit.

[B4real]

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-a ... iter-trust

If I am not mistaken, it appears that a brand new lawsuit has been filed by Adam Cohen and Lorca Cohen (on or around 4 Feb 2025), against different parties than those from the previous lawsuit (i.e., they are suing someone else, now). There was no indication, that I could ascertain, of an outcome from their previous lawsuit.

I couldn't read that link above so here's a recent link from the Courthouse News Service - https://www.courthousenews.com/leonard- ... -cover-up/

Leonard Cohen’s heirs sue law firm claiming forgery and cover-up
Adam and Lorca Cohen claim attorney Reeve Chudd forged a document that allowed Cohen's old manager, Robert Kory, to maintain control of the songwriter's estate.

Hillel Aron / February 5, 2025

LOS ANGELES (CN) — The surviving children of celebrated singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen sued the law firm Ervin Cohen & Jessup over its role in an inheritance battle between them and Cohen's former manager.

Lorca and Adam Cohen sued their father's former manager, Robert Kory, in 2022, accusing him of forging documents to install himself as the sole trustee of Cohen's estate and various other breaches of fiduciary duty. In a cross-complaint, Kory said he worked diligently to plan Cohen's estate so that his wealth would pass mostly to his children and not to charities, as it had been previously earmarked for.

The newer complaint, filed Tuesday in LA Superior Court, accuses Kory's former attorney, Reeve Chudd, formerly a partner at the Beverly Hills-based law firm Ervin Cohen & Jessup, of playing a key role in Kory's schemes. Cohen, they say, selected Kory as his successor trustee but changed his mind in 2010 and reinstated his children as trustees.

"Even so, Kory managed to be named the trustee after Cohen's death," the complaint reads. "How did Kory seize the trusteeship and, with it, access to Cohen's fortune if the operative trust documents named others as co-trustees? Because [Chudd and his firm] committed forgery to install Kory as trustee, then covered it up for years."

The Cohens add in their complaint: "Self-dealing followed. From 2018 to June 2023, Kory and his family burned through at least $8 million of trust assets. As the purported trustee, Kory paid millions to himself, his affiliates and his family."

Chudd, they say, has admitted to the forgery in a deposition as part of a probate action to remove Kory as trustee. Even so, they say, the firm has continued "turning a blind eye to Kory's self-dealing and covering up its own wrongdoing" and, in return, was paid $2.6 million in legal fees from the trust.

The Canadian-born Cohen was an acclaimed poet before he turned to music, authoring such songs as "Suzanne," "Everybody Knows," and "Hallelujah," which achieved fame after being covered by Jeff Buckley. His later life was marked by financial troubles. In 2005, he sued former manager Kelley Lynch, accusing her of stealing more than $5 million from a fund he set up for his retirement, leaving only $150,000. He won the suit and was awarded $9 million, although it's unclear if he was ever able to collect any of it.

Nearly destitute, Cohen was forced to mount a comeback, embarking on a world tour to repair his fortune. The tour was a success, and Cohen continued to play concerts and even put out a few more albums.

In his cross-complaint against Cohen's children, Kory claims credit for Cohen's comeback. He also took credit for negotiating the sale of Cohen's musical catalog to a song management group, a deal he said earned the heirs tens of millions of dollars.

[abby]

After spending some time with the forum here it's real apparent that Kory is Ms. Lynch #2 while Adam & Lorca & the rest of Leonard's blood line have to contend with this complication on top of the loss of LC himself. My condolences.

[abby]

Will try to send help.

[abby]

~Snow, in the old days

[dar]

What a beautiful post from G. Thanks Abby. Since I'm mentioned it may have been a response to me when I was grieving the death of my son. How do you find these posts from the old days Abby? Is there a place where we can visit our interactions on the old newsgroup? Is that where this poem came from? Thanks for this.

[abby]

It wasn't a poem, just ordinary eternal machinery. The formatting happened in the endless copying & pasting that has happened over the years- I Iike to bring that bit out once a decade or so, but I guess I usually do it privately, in one of my notebooks?

This is where I came upon it this time:

https://www.leonardcohenforum.com/viewt ... 8&start=90

& yes, but mercifully read only: https://groups.google.com/g/alt.music.leonard-cohen

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