Disney In-Laws Sue Lawyers for $100 mil

A real estate developer sued a law firm for $100 million, claiming it defamed him on its website to justify "pillaging and plundering" millions of dollars in fees from trusts for his children, heirs to the Walt Disney fortune.

William S. Lund, of Arizona, sued the trust's attorney Peter Gelblum and the law firm Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp in Superior Court.

A self-described "respected and successful entrepreneur," Lund says he has acted as an officer and trustee for 13 trusts, including the Walt Disney Foundation and trusts for his son and daughter, twins Bradford Disney Lund and Michelle Ann Lund.

Lund says he collaborated with Walt Disney in a feasibility study for a Disney World site. In 1968, he married Disney's youngest daughter, Sharon. The couple divorced in 1977 but Sharon named Lund as one of the trustees to manage their children's trust, which disburses roughly $20 million to each child every five years, according to the Arizona Republic.

The Republic reported in 2010 that Lund lived close to his son Brad, but his relationship with Michelle soured as the family feuded over management of the trust.

In that article, cited in Lund's lawsuit, Gelblum accused Lund of making money on trust business transactions involving secret land deals and forging Michelle and Brad's names to push through the transactions.

But in his 9-page lawsuit, Lund claims Gelblum "blatantly lied" to the Republic. He claims the law firm falsely accused him on its website of secretly profiting from the trust's business dealings at the expense of his children.
 
 Lund claims the law firm "viciously" defamed him "so as to justify payment to themselves of millions of dollars of attorneys fees ... pillaging and plundering the estate and legacy of Sharon Disney Lund and her progeny," according to the lawsuit.

He is represented by Joyce Vega.

Full Article and Source:
Disney  In-Law Sues Lawyers for $100 Million

See Also:
The Disney Family Court Battle Continues