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The ranch location region includes spectacular scenery, views
of Grand Teton, and is a prime fly-fishing location in the valley
on Fish Creek and the Snake River.
Chad Ehlers / Alamy Stock Photo |
The Code of the West says, “Remember that some things
aren’t for sale,” but Disney heir’s California trustees have different
designs on the ranch
(CHEYENNE, WY) A picturesque
110-acre Wyoming ranch in Teton County is at the center of a
multi-million-dollar battle by Walt Disney's grandson, Bradford Disney
Lund, to secure control of the inheritance put in trust for Lund by his
mother, Sharon D. Lund.
The
Code of the West seems to elude Lund, who hopes that the Wyoming ranch
will continue to be retained by the trust as was intended for use and
enjoyment by him and his family. Lund is ensnarled in California's
notoriously abusive-prone probate system. As full as Walt Disney was
with imagination, he likely would have never dreamt that such an unhappy
circumstance would unfold for his grandson.
Hanging in the balance is "Eagle South Fork," the family ranch that
is located in Wilson, Wyoming, in Teton County, in the shadow of Grand
Teton, not far from Jackson Hole. It's been a Disney family treasure for
decades.
But the California trustees of the estate have different
designs on that ranch and recently sent Lund a letter demanding that he
buy the very ranch of which his trust already owns one-half, or they'll
sell it to other outside buyers for millions, which would be contrary
to his mother's clear intent according to Lund's filings. In that
letter, his trustees – who by law should only act in his best interests –
gave him just a few days to pay up with his personal funds at a higher
price than would be the case if the ranch were restricted to family uses
and contrary to what the trustees and his sister had previously agreed.
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Bradford Lund, grandson of Walt Disney.
Courtesy Lanny J. Davis |
In an exclusive interview with
The Cheyenne Post, Lund said
that "the ranch isn't for sale, I don't want it sold," making it clear
that he wants the ranch to stay in the family to continue to enjoy, and
not break up and develop. The California trustees apparently have never
heard of one of the Codes of the West – "Remember that some things
aren't for sale."
Concerning the sale of the Wyoming ranch, Lund
objects to any such sale, stating that it would be in violation of the
family's long history over 40 years of wanting to keep the 110-acre
ranch for the children's use and enjoyment during their lifetimes.
So,
Lund went into the district court in Teton County to stop the trustees
from selling the ranch to outsiders against Lund's wishes. The Trustees
attempted to move the case to California instead of Wyoming because they
claimed it was more convenient. The trustees apparently believe that a
California court might be more friendly and certainly a world away from
understanding Wyoming and better to decide the fate of that little patch
of Wyoming ground. The court agreed to transfer the case to California
and dismiss Lund's case.
However, Lund recently filed a motion to alter or amend the judgment,
which would, in effect, allow the judge to take another look at his
decision to transfer the case to California. If the judge does not
change his transfer ruling, Lund intends to appeal to the Wyoming
Supreme Court.
In our exclusive interview with Bradford Lund this week, he shared ranch stories– most stories were happy, and some were sad.
Happy
stories recall his father, Bill Lund, developing and building the ranch
decades ago, and Lund helped his father set fenceposts (a Wyoming art
form), fly-fishing on Fish Creek (the ranch is on the banks of the
creek, itself on the edge of Snake River), horseback and ATV adventures
and more.
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Bradford Disney Lund’s mother and grandfather – Sharon
Disney (Lund) and Walt Disney.
Disney Archives via D23. |
Among the most moving is Brad's desire to establish a permanent
memorial for his father on the ranch that Brad says his dad loved so
much and always intended to remain with the family. "I'd like for my
father's ashes to rest on this ranch (allowed in Wyoming)," Lund said.
Sad
stories were – frankly – shocking. Previously able to use and enjoy the
ranch whenever he and his family wished, Lund said they have been
essentially alienated and deterred from enjoying the ranch due to the
trustees' conduct.
"I feel that we were treated viciously by the
trustees," he said. Lund also claimed, "the trustees have shown
hostility towards me by demanding I move my personal items contained in
my bedroom at the ranch to the garage contrary to my custom for the
previous 25 years. Also, the trustees ordered that the property of my
family, who visit the ranch with me, be removed from the ranch
completely. I believe that these actions by the trustees are for the
sole purpose of harassing and exerting control over me, demonstrating
their consistent hostility towards me. They boxed up all of our
possessions and sent them to us."
When Lund tried to place some personal items back at the ranch, "they put my stuff in trash bags and threw it all away."
In
my conversation with him that lasted over an hour, Lund very clearly
and concisely articulated stories and long-ago memories of enjoying the
ranch over the years with his family and the details of his dispute with
the trustees that go back years.
"All I want is my freedom, to
have what is mine," he said. He clearly has a firm understanding of the
complexities of his estate and how he wants to preserve and manage it.
Lund said the trustees have kept control of his estate by falsely
asserting he isn't competent to manage it himself, despite the fact that
an Arizona judge after an extensive trial found that he was competent
to handle his personal and financial affairs. This finding was confirmed
all the way up to the Arizona Supreme Court. His twin sister Michelle
Lund in sworn court testimony, agreed.
When reached by telephone
and asked about the issues, Newport Beach, CA. based Douglas M. Strode,
one of the trustees, answered questions about the ranch and Mr. Lund
with a simple answer, "no comment."
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Walt Disney at the center of Disneyland
in Anaheim, CA in the mid-1960's.
Disney Archives |
Disney's grandson was recently forced to file court papers in the Los
Angeles County Superior Court asking to block his four trustees: L.
Andrew Gifford, Robert L. Wilson, Douglas M. Strode, and the First
Republic Trust Company, from selling the ranch, according to an attorney
representing him - Lanny J. Davis.
For nearly the past decade,
Lund has battled estranged family members, trustees, and probate court
officials, proving again and again that he is mentally fit to manage an
inheritance worth over $400-million. He's had to prove that he doesn't
have Down syndrome, as a California judge wrongfully asserted, despite
being presented with DNA evidence contradicting his speculation. A court
in Arizona even agreed and found Lund capable of handling his affairs.
In representing the Disney heir, attorney Lanny Davis is no stranger
to complex legal matters. He served as special counsel to then-President
Bill Clinton in the late 1990s and as privacy and civil liberties
advisor to President George W. Bush from 2006-2007 and represented
President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Davis
chose to join the Lund legal team out of his concern for the injustices
done to Lund.
Mr. Lund's choice of attorney, also including
renowned Scottsdale litigator Sandra Slaton, might alone quash any
doubts about his ability to manage his affairs.
According to legal
filings, the four trustees themselves agreed that the ranch had special
personal value to the Lund family – that it was of a "particular
nature" with a "connection to the Lund family."
Lund asserted in
his court papers that the new proposed sale would be a violation of a
prior deal for him to acquire his twin sister's other half of the ranch
share, and the 40-year intent of Mr. Lund's parents to keep the Ranch in
the Trust for the children's lifetime use and enjoyment. "Our family
has always treasured the pristine environment – the rivers and streams
and forests and wildlife – of our ranch over many years. We do not want
it to be changed."
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View of the ranch headquarters (center), West of Jackson
along Fish Creek and the Snake River, at the West Bank
South area of Jackson Hole, in Wilson, WY – population 200.
Via Google Earth (c) |
In his filings, Lund asserted: "An undeniable benefit will be to the
Trustees based upon their Real Estate Fee. The Trustees will receive 2%
of the purchase price." The trustees have described this fee as
"extraordinary." According to the terms of Lund's and his twin sister's
trusts, as explained in the legal filings, neither Mr. Lund nor his
sister would personally receive an economic benefit if the ranch were
sold at the higher price based on commercial subdivisions of the ranch.
Saving the Wyoming ranch would be one step closer for Bradford Lund
toward putting the family disputes the trustees created behind him and
living his life in peace and freedom.
Liberating himself from the
trustees who he says have harmed him so badly over the years is his
ultimate goal. "The system is broken," said Rick Black, a director at
the Center for Estate Administration Reform in North Carolina. "This is
purely an estate-trafficking case, and it is being managed by predatory
attorneys," Black told Tony Saavedra of The Orange County Register last year (Lund articles here and here).
