Two of Paul Newman's daughters are suing Newman's Own, the charitable foundation and well-known food brand founded by the late actor, claiming that it doesn't give enough money to their charities.
Newman granted the foundation rights to his name, image and likeness – but not unconditionally. The one condition was that the foundation allocate $400,000 each year to each of his "Daughters' Foundations." His daughters say they were supposed to direct a portion of the donations each year. "But mere days after his death, those Mr. Newman had entrusted with the stewardship of his legacy turned on him, made thinly-veiled threats of disinheritance to his daughters, and leveraged their control over his estate to set the stage for disenfranchisement of his family," the suit reads.
According to the lawsuit, Newman's partners took advantage of his infirmity, then iced out his family upon his death.
The daughters allege Newman's business manager, Brian Murphy, and his adviser, Robert Forrester, had a pattern of "ignoring, contradicting and/or disregarding Mr. Newman's stated intentions and desires for his legacy." They also allege Murphy and Forrester's plans to disregard Newman's wishes began prior to his death.They claim Newman signed a "Written Consent of Sole Member," that appointed Forrester and Murphy as the foundation's second and third board members, just months before Newman's death, when his memory was failing him due to his illness and treatment.
I always thought it a bit odd that they would make a line of food products that incorporate Paul Newman's genetic material, especially now they've run out of it. The prospect of in vitro "Newman's Own" grown from his stem cells is promising, but years from being a practical store-bought product.
