In Aftermath of the Astor Case, How the Final Fees Piled Up By SERGE F. KOVALESKI
The legal drama over the health care and finances of Brooke Astor, New York's legendary socialite and philanthropist, played out for nearly three months amid allegations and recriminations of financial duplicity, greed and outright forgery.
The case against her son, Anthony D. Marshall, came to a halt on Oct. 13 when the parties in the feud reached a settlement, averting what could have been an expensive and sensational trial scheduled to begin less than a week later.
But everything comes with a price. In the seven weeks since the agreement, those involved in the case have filed bills with Justice John E. H. Stackhouse of State Supreme Court in Manhattan for fees totaling about $3 million for the services of 56 lawyers, 65 legal assistants, 6 accountants, 5 bankers, 6 doctors, 2 public relations firms and a law school professor. Under state law, such payments would come out of Mrs. Astor's assets, valued at over $120 million.
But yesterday, Justice Stackhouse issued an order that approved a smaller amount, $2.22 million, calling the original figure "staggering" and saying that some charges were for work that was not in the best interest of Mrs. Astor, who is 104. The justice denied payments for the public relations firms, the time lawyers spent talking with reporters and the hours logged preparing the fee applications themselves.
The largest fee of nearly $1.08 million went to J. P. Morgan Chase, which was named permanent guardian of Mrs. Astor's assets as part of the settlement, less than the $1.24 million that the bank requested. The other guardian in the case, Annette de la Renta, the wife of the designer Oscar de la Renta, requested no compensation for herself or the law firm that represented her.
"She felt that the right thing to do was to pay all her own attorneys' fees and that it was not fair to charge that to her friend's estate since she volunteered to step up as guardian," said Fraser P. Seitel, a spokesman for Ms. de la Renta. Mr. Seitel's business was one of the public relations firms denied payment by the justice.
The case began on July 20, when one of Mr. Marshall's sons, Philip Marshall, filed a legal petition that accused his father of neglecting the care of Mrs. Astor while trying to enrich himself with her fortune. Under the October settlement, Anthony Marshall, 82, gave up his role as steward of his mother's finances and was required, along with his wife, Charlene, to relinquish his position as co- executor of Mrs. Astor's estate. As part of the agreement, Mr. Marshall admitted no wrongdoing.
Justice Stackhouse said he felt Mr. Marshall should be awarded half of his legal fees. "I make this ruling based on the conclusion of the court evaluator that the allegations in the petition regarding Mrs. Astor's medical and dental care, and other allegations of intentional elder abuse by the Marshalls, were not substantiated," he wrote in his ruling.
Ira Salzman, whose firm represented Philip Marshall and was awarded $356,512 of the $365,572 in fees it requested, said in a statement that payments to Mr. Seitel, who did work for his client, would be honored through other means.