Mr. Murdoch’s appeal over whether he can consolidate his son Lachlan’s power over his media empire is due just before Christmas.According to The New York Times, media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to consolidate his son Lachlan’s power over his global media empire is set to be decided just before Christmas. This move would also secure the empire’s conservative editorial direction after Mr. Murdoch’s death.
The first step for Mr. Murdoch is to convince a district court judge in Reno to reject a recent ruling by a local commissioner, who accused him of acting in “bad faith” when he secretly changed the family trust that divided control of the empire equally among his four oldest children. Mr. Murdoch’s legal team has until Monday to file a brief challenging this ruling.
If Mr. Murdoch is unsuccessful and the commissioner’s recommendation is upheld by the judge, his lawyers have stated that they will appeal the decision to the Nevada State Supreme Court. However, this would require Mr. Murdoch to prove that the commissioner’s finding of bad faith was “clearly erroneous,” which is a difficult legal standard to meet.
According to Nevada estate planning and litigation lawyer Kevin P. Walsh, this type of challenge is not easy to win, as it would require proving a clear mistake. This may be particularly challenging in this case, as the commissioner’s recommendation was filed under seal and is said to contain strong language.
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