‘Ruthless and materialistic’: Fierce dispute between siblings over tycoon father’s $100 million fortune

A fierce dispute between two brothers on the fortune of 100 million dollars of her father, a deceased tycoon, has taken the situation to an unexpected extreme: a charge that aims to put her sister in prison.

The billionaire businesswoman Louise Reeves was branded as “Ruthless and materialistic” by a judge during a legal war with his brother Bill Reeves after the death of his tycoon father Kevin, leaving him most of his empire in cash and property.

Will, annulment and luck

Bill, 48, from the UK, was removed from the will from his father in 2014, meaning part of his father’s fortune has been lost, he reports The mirror.

However that will was quashed after a High Court trial last year when a judge found that Louise, 36, had made a “engineering” in document processing, “tricking (his father’s) eyes”for which he signed a will that he did not understand.

Louise, stylist of Tony and Guyshe now faces jail time if found guilty of contempt of court, after her brother and son Ryan McKinnon demanded that she be convicted of lying in court statements.

In contempt of the court request, attorneys said Louise and the his father’s lawyer, Daniel Curnockthey had “deliberately hidden” how well they knew each other before Kevin’s final will was made.

contempt request

Judge Clare Ambrose of the High Court in London rejected an offer by Louise to delay proceedings, ruling that the contempt suit brought against Louise and Curnock must be examined by the court as soon as possible.

“The contempt plea questions whether the statements made were knowingly and dishonestly made,” he said.

“There are potentially important issues regarding the consequences of dishonest statements on the drafting of wills and the appropriate sanction for applicants and beneficiaries”, specifies according to the British media.

Both Louise and Curnock denies any dishonesty and are ready to fight Bill and Ryan’s request for permission to sue them.

Louise also plans to take her case to the European Court of Human Rightsclaiming that his right to a fair trial was violated during his initial trial.

From orphan to real estate millionaire

During the November 2021 legal battle, this came to light real estate mogul Kevin Reeves, who drove a Rolls Royce, amassed a large personal fortune despite humble origins, as he was orphaned in a convent and dropped out of school. with only 12 years.

He had four children, but his final will he left 80% of his millions to his daughter Louisewhen he died, aged 71, in 2019. The rest went to his half-sister Lisa Murray.

Unsurprisingly, that decision sparked a “tremendous feud” after her second son Bill, backed by his grandson Ryan, claimed Louise had forced Kevin into will change his will to leave Bill with next to nothing.

Bill Reeves described his sister as “Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and someone who “likes money and flashy things”. He also pointed out that she was behind her the reason why his father excluded him from his will.

He told the court that he had a great relationship with his father as well offered to donate a lung to him when he was sick.

There was no reason Kevin had to leave him with so little in his last will made in 2014, he added.

judge’s opinion

In January of this year, speaking on the case, Judge Michael Green rejected the claim that Louise had molested her father, but said that she “I cheated on him”so he didn’t understand what was in the will.

“I think Louise takes risks and can be manipulative. She knows what she wants and she knows how to get it,” she forcefully threw at the millionaire’s daughter.

“I think she was willing to take the risk of being discovered by the deceased in connection with the 2014 will and would have taken the consequences, because the prize was very large”, he also speculated in court.

The judge further noted that, telling the court that they had not met until after the 2014 will, Louise and her father Curnock’s attorney, “deliberately tried to hide the full extent of their interactions in connection with the preparation of the 2014 will.”

As proof of this, some emails “indicating communications between them in relation to the will of 2014 and that they had met on December 11, 2013 when Curnock attended the offices of the deceased for a meeting”.

But there was more to discover: there was 17 text messages between the two on a single day in December 2013, they report.

Cancel the will, the millions and the aftermath

Canceling 2014 will spell Kevin’s luckand would be divided under the terms of an earlier will dated 2012, which gave 10% of the shares to Mark’s two children, his estranged son, Ryan and Ria McKinnon, with the remaining 80% split evenly between Bill, Louise and Lisa.

Louise and Curnock now face charges of incarcerating them contempt of court.

“This case was about a lot of money and it got a lot of attention,” Ryan’s solicitor Clifford Darton KC told the High Court last week.

“There needs to be a deterrent, particularly for lawyers or parties seeking to obtain a significant commercial advantage to give fake evidence on the events that led to the drafting of the will”, he remarks.

“There is a public interest in resolving this issue and for it to be done quickly,” he concludes.

But Louise’s attorney, Elizabeth Jones KC, said that she he denied being dishonest about previous contact with Curnock to hide how the will was made. “I just didn’t remember meeting him,” he felt, and it sounded hardly believable.

“Our case is that Louise didn’t get (her father) to sign a will that she didn’t know about,” the attorney explained to the judge. And he added: “He had no incentive to lie and didn’t. It’s simple enough.”

And he said the contempt petition should be delayed to allow Louise to file her grievances about the will case. first at the European Court of Human Rights.

She said it had actually been discovered that Louise had done it “disappointed” his fatherbut no charges had been brought against him during the trial.

The local media talk about a violation of their rights to a fair trial under Article 6 of the Convention on Human Rights which is why he is taking action against the UK government, according to the lawyer.

For example, it would be a mistake to move forward with the contempt of court case if the original ruling could be challenged in the European court, he argued.

“The contempt claim is being made on the basis that Louise and Mr. Curnock lied about their previous relationship and when they met,” he sought to get the points clearly on the table.

The key to the case is fundamental: “The judge discovered that they lied about it to hide the fact that Louise had made her father sign a will whose contents she did not know”

If that judgment was correct, it would be crucial to determine if I were to be incarceratedas it would form a central point of the contempt case against you.

In turn, if Louise hadn’t actually made her father make a will whose contents she didn’t know, if she hadn’t let him down, then there was no reason for her to lie.

The case will return to court in late December for a decision on whether to pursue the contempt case.