Legal News

Ninth Circuit Rules Against Federal Bretheren, Anna Nicole

By Ashby Jones

It seems fitting that in a saga that’s had no shortage of twists and turns, we get yet one more.

The Ninth Circuit on Friday ruled that Anna Nicole Smith’s estate will get none of the more than $300 million she claimed Howard J. Marshall, the Texas billionaire to whom she was briefly married, meant to leave her after his death. Click here for the LAT story; here for the opinion. On the Ninth Circuit panel: judges Robert Beezer, Andrew Kleinfeld and Richard Paez.

The LAT sums it up this way:

The panel ruled in a 68-page opinion that an initial 2001 jury verdict in Houston in favor of the Marshall family should be honored over two subsequent federal court rulings that cut in Smith’s favor.

The appeals court said the Houston jury heard from all the parties, including Smith, during a five-month trial in which she accused E. Pierce Marshall of illegally coercing his father to keep Smith out of his will.

So is the case finally over? Not necessarily. Kent Richland, who represents the Smith estate, said he would appeal the latest ruling. He hasn’t yet decided whether to ask the Ninth Circuit for a hearing of a larger panel (an en banc) or take the case back to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Dechert’s Eric Brunstad, a lawyer for Marshall family members, said they hoped the legal fight was over.

But there’s good news for all those who just can’t get enough of Anna Nicole. According to news reports, the Royal Opera House in London plans to stage the world premiere of "Anna Nicole,” an opera about Smith’s life and death, beginning early next year.

Photo: AP

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 19, 2010 (boomark / email).