In a big win for Saints and Pelicans Owner Tom Benson, a Louisiana federal court today ruled his lawsuit may continue against two trustees who have been blocking the transfer of interests in his teams from the trusts of his disowned heirs. The trustees, Robert Rosenthal and Mary Rowe, had declined to sign off on the move, arguing Benson could not simply substitute promissory notes for the interests in the team. They had asked the court to dismiss Benson’s case. However, Judge Jane Triche Milazzo wrote of Benson, “The trusts grant him the unilateral power to substitute assets, and while the trustee must ensure equivalent value, he does not have the power to prevent such an exchange.”
After a falling out with his daughter and her children, Benson in early '15 sought to move their interests in his empire out of their trusts. The trustees blocked the move, arguing the transactions were akin to a loan. Milazzo rejected that argument, and forcefully came down on the side of Benson, at times writing the trustees' arguments were “absurd.” She granted that the trustees can litigate over the value of the sports teams, and other asserts, but not block the transfer.
