Former pin-up bags $88.5m
2002-03-08 13:02
Los Angeles - A US judge on Thursday awarded a former Playboy pin-up $88.5 million from her billionaire husband's estate in the latest twist
in the saga of an ex-stripper, an elderly oil tycoon and his angry
stepson.
But while buxom Anna Nicole Smith (34) hailed the judgment
against the son of her late husband Howard Marshall as a "victory",
the judge dramatically slashed the award from the $450 million
granted her by another court in 2000, in a ruling that was
later repealed.
"I think it's a victory for a husband's love for his wife and it
shows the world that love has no age limits," said Smith's lawyer
Philip Boesch as the six-year legal battle marked a fresh
milestone.
"Anna Nicole takes the judgment as a complete victory and is
extremely happy, particularly with the judge's express finding that
she was the most important person in her husband's life. She liked
that the most," he added.
Half of the award by US District Judge David Carter was in
punitive damages against E Pierce Marshall, who claims to be the
sole heir to the estate of his father, who died aged 90 in 1995
leaving an estate valued at $1.6 billion.
Smith 'not disappointed'
Smith contended her stepson had interfered with her right to
inherit from her husband, a claim that won her a $450 million
judgment in September 2000.
Boesch insisted Smith was not disappointed with the reduced
award, just 20% of the earlier amount, reiterating her
delight with the judge's findings.
Smith, a high-school dropout who was crowned Playboy Magazine's
1992 "Playmate of the Year", married Texas tycoon Marshall senior
in 1994 after meeting him in the Houston strip club where she
worked.
She was 26 and he was 89.
When he died the following year after 14 months of marriage, a
mighty court battle erupted between Smith and the tycoon's son,
himself in his mid-sixties, over Smith's claims her late husband
promised her half his fortune, which had been willed in its
entirety to his son.
Smith declared bankruptcy after losing a lawsuit to her former
nanny, who had accused her of alleged sexual harassment, but then
went on to win the $450 million judgment.
'Gold-digger'
The younger Marshall branded his stepmother a "gold-digger",
arguing there was no proof of his father's promise to Smith and
claiming that Marshall had showered her with $6 million
worth of homes, cars and jewellery.
He also contended his father realised his mistake in marrying
Smith, who, he charged, did not spend much time with her husband
before his death.
In a separate case last year, a Texas jury ruled that Smith and
her rich husband's other - and disinherited - son J Howard
Marshall had no rightful claim to his fortune and awarded
huge costs against the pair.
Thursday's judgment is unlikely to be the end of the acrimonious
and very public legal war between Smith and E Pierce Marshall,
with Marshall's lawyers vowing to appeal the judgment.
Marshall said in a statement that his father "would be appalled
by the ruling", which followed a month-long hearing that ended with
the judge urging the two to hammer out an agreement, warning that
neither would be happy with his judgment.
"Its not the end of the legal battles, but its the beginning of
the end because we are running out of steps to appeal," Boesch said.
"We're getting closer but its like a marathon and we're not
quite done yet." - Sapa/AFP
- SAPA