A sibling feud over a trust fund and a failed family business is spilling into the courts.
Leroy Roper Jr., Gay W. Diz and Clair Roper Eades have filed suit in Richmond Circuit Court, alleging that their brother, Philip Roper, mismanaged a family trust and spent the funds in the last days or Roper Brother’s Lumber Company, which filed bankruptcy a year ago. (You can read the RBS story on that here.)
The plaintiffs previously filed a suit to gain access to information related to the trusts, and their lawyer wrote in the most recent complaint that they have not received the information they sought.
BizSense left a message at Philip Roper’s home, which was not returned. In a statement, his lawyer, Bill Bayliss of Williams Mullen, wrote, “The allegations are completely without merit. The funds in the trust are assets of Mary Claire C Roper, who is very much alive and well, and she is extremely upset that her children have asserted this claim and does not understand why they would do this.”
Philip Roper will have 30 days from the time the suit is served to file a response, and his Bayliss said more will become clear once they do so.
The suit alleges that Philip Roper was the trustee of three separate trusts and also power of attorney for the siblings’ mother, Mary Clair C. Roper.
The siblings learned in January 2010 that two of the trusts were listed as unsecured creditors of Roper Bros. Lumber, which was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and had to file schedules that listed all the creditors. The trusts were owed about $1.3 million, according to bankruptcy filings.
The suit alleges that, “Philip Roper transferred, or caused or allowed to be transferred, a substantial portion of the funds held in each trust for his own use and benefit, including but not limited to the transfers made to his Company.”
The suit alleged that because of those transfers, Philip Roper breached his fiduciary duty as trustee.
Ashley Burgess, a lawyer with Sands Anderson who filed the suit, said that the complaint speaks for itself, but he added, “Let me be clear, this is a breach of trust suit, and it is a case about whether or not Phil Roper met and fulfilled his duty.”
Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to [email protected].
A sibling feud over a trust fund and a failed family business is spilling into the courts.
Leroy Roper Jr., Gay W. Diz and Clair Roper Eades have filed suit in Richmond Circuit Court, alleging that their brother, Philip Roper, mismanaged a family trust and spent the funds in the last days or Roper Brother’s Lumber Company, which filed bankruptcy a year ago. (You can read the RBS story on that here.)
The plaintiffs previously filed a suit to gain access to information related to the trusts, and their lawyer wrote in the most recent complaint that they have not received the information they sought.
BizSense left a message at Philip Roper’s home, which was not returned. In a statement, his lawyer, Bill Bayliss of Williams Mullen, wrote, “The allegations are completely without merit. The funds in the trust are assets of Mary Claire C Roper, who is very much alive and well, and she is extremely upset that her children have asserted this claim and does not understand why they would do this.”
Philip Roper will have 30 days from the time the suit is served to file a response, and his Bayliss said more will become clear once they do so.
The suit alleges that Philip Roper was the trustee of three separate trusts and also power of attorney for the siblings’ mother, Mary Clair C. Roper.
The siblings learned in January 2010 that two of the trusts were listed as unsecured creditors of Roper Bros. Lumber, which was in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and had to file schedules that listed all the creditors. The trusts were owed about $1.3 million, according to bankruptcy filings.
The suit alleges that, “Philip Roper transferred, or caused or allowed to be transferred, a substantial portion of the funds held in each trust for his own use and benefit, including but not limited to the transfers made to his Company.”
The suit alleged that because of those transfers, Philip Roper breached his fiduciary duty as trustee.
Ashley Burgess, a lawyer with Sands Anderson who filed the suit, said that the complaint speaks for itself, but he added, “Let me be clear, this is a breach of trust suit, and it is a case about whether or not Phil Roper met and fulfilled his duty.”
Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to [email protected].
Go gettem’ Bayliss!