Murdoch succession battle to play out in Nevada courtroom

Record ID: 1841304

  • Title: Murdoch succession battle to play out in Nevada courtroom
  • Date: 12th September 2024
  • Summary: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 6, 2024) (Reuters) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY, ELYSE M. TYRELL, SAYING: “If we can show that it's in the beneficiary's best interest and something just wasn't, didn't happen in the initial document to allow that to succeed, in either of those cases, our court has to have jurisdiction before it will consider an
  • Embargoed: 26th September 2024 07:56
  • Keywords: LEGAL BATTLE MURDOCH TRUST NEVADA RENO RUPERT MURDOCH WASHOE COUNTY COURT WASHOE COUNTY SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
  • Location: RENO/LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES; LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: RENO/LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES; NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES; LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA006307210092024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:A secret court battle over control of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire begins on September 16, and could determine the future Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
    Murdoch is attempting to change the terms of the family’s irrevocable trust to ensure that his newspapers and television networks remain under the control of his eldest son and chosen heir, Lachlan Murdoch.
    The trust lays out a scenario through which a potential takeover could occur. It is the vehicle through which the elder Murdoch controls News Corp and Fox Corp, through a roughly 40% stake in voting shares of each company. Murdoch also holds a small amount of shares of the companies outside of the trust.
    Upon Rupert’s death, News Corp and Fox voting shares will be transferred from Murdoch to his four oldest children – Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan and James – creating a scenario in which three of the children could out-vote a fourth, potentially setting up a battle over the future of the companies, even as Lachlan Murdoch runs Fox and is the sole chair of News Corp.
    Rupert Murdoch’s proposed amendment to the trust would block any interference by three of Lachlan’s siblings, who are more politically moderate, after the 93-year-old media mogul’s death. The New York Times was the first to report details of the succession drama, citing a sealed court document.
    Elyse M. Tyrell, a Nevada-based estate planning attorney, was surprised to hear the hearing would be held in Reno.
    “Someone had some very interesting foresight when they drafted his estate planning or this trust that they're dealing with,” Tyrell said. “They could have shopped jurisdictions and found a jurisdiction that would accommodate amending or decanting an irrevocable trust.”
    Lachlan Murdoch is viewed as ideologically aligned with his father, while James Murdoch resigned from the New Corp board in 2020, citing disagreements over editorial content. He also criticized the U.S. media for amplifying disinformation about the 2020 election results, setting the stage for the Jan.6 attack on the Capitol.
    A hearing to determine whether the proposed changes to the trust would benefit Rupert Murdoch’s heirs will take place in a Reno courtroom, well outside the media centers of gravity from which the conglomerate operates, in New York, Los Angeles, London and Sydney.
    Nevada, unlike many other states, allows irrevocable trusts to be decanted.
    “Decanting is actually going in and asking the court to take assets from that wrong version trust, pull them out of that trust and put them into a newer version trust,” Tyrell said.
    Documents in the case have been sealed, and the hearings before probate commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. are closed to the public.
    A group of news organizations, including the New York Times, CNN, The Associated Press, National Public Radio, The Washington Post and Reuters, have asked to intervene in the matter, arguing that the court should unseal the records and provide access to the proceedings.
    “Though some litigants may desire secrecy and some courts indulge this desire, this level of sealing does not pass constitutional muster,” attorneys for the Access Coalition write in a memo to the court, arguing the First Amendment calls for civil judicial proceedings and records to be open to the public.
    The news organizations say the public has immense interest in which of Murdoch’s children will succeed him at the helm of the influential media empire, an outcome that will affect thousands of jobs, millions of worldwide media consumers and the political landscape.
    (Production: Nathan Frandino, Jackie Luna)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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