Secret Legal Fight in Murdoch Family

choi

(1) Jim Rutenberg and Jonathan Mahler, Murdoch Family Secretly Fights over Future of Its Media Empire. New York Times, July 26, 2024, at page A1.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/ ... succession-fox.html
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/secret ... pire-113811630.html

My comment: In this report:
(a) the sentence "After filing his petition to amend the trust, Murdoch met separately with Elisabeth and Prudence in London, hoping to win their support, this person said," is the only that Rupert Murdoch is the one who initiated the lawsuit (or petition in legal term). A petition may not need "defendants," so it is unclear whether Rupert's three adult children are named defendants" (a petition still needs to name "respondents").
(b) the two sentences ("Days later, on Dec 6, [Rupert] Murdoch's representatives went ahead with the motion to make the changes at a hastily called special meeting of the trust in Reno, Nevada. * * * The action is taking place in a Reno probate court, which is devoted to dealing with family trusts and estates") explains the venue (the trust had been set up in Reno) and what court the petition is ongoing.
(i) Nevada (2020 census: 3.1 million people) has judicial branch with only two tiers: Supreme Court (seven justices) and District Court (divided into 11 judicial districts and serves as trial court to hear criminal, civil, family, and juvenile cases; in other words, Nevada does not have separate probate court, for example).
(ii) Officially there is no such thing as "Reno probate court."
(A) Firstly the Reno trial court is "Second Judicial District Court" with its own (one) District Court in "Second Judicial District, which is coextensive with Washoe County (which is named for Washoe People(: en.wikipedia.org) whose county seat and largest City is Reno).  The Second
(B) The District Court in that district has two divisions: "General Jurisdiction" (nine judges to hear criminal, civil and juvenile cases) and "Family" (six judges to hear pronate, among other family matters including divorce or child support).
https://www.washoecourts.com/Judges

As you can see, the judges in the two divisions of said judicial district sits in their own "Departments" within the judicial district. Nine judges in General Jurisdiction sits from Departments 1 to 15, within six Department absent (possibly for historical reason) because there are only nine judges/
(c)
(i) Bethany Drysdale, Commissioner Edmund J Gorman, Jr Appointed Probate Commissioner. Washoe County, Nov 18, 2019
https://washoelife.washoecounty. ... obate-commissioner/
("The Second Judicial District Court is pleased to announce the appointment of Edmund J Gorman, Jr. as Probate Commissioner.  Commissioner Gorman’s appointment follows the retirement of longstanding Commissioner Robin Wright. * * * Originally from Boise, Idaho, Edmund J 'Joe' Gorman came to Nevada in 2009 to take advantage of the abundant outdoor and community activities that the 'Biggest Little City' [Reno] has to offer.  Prior to his service to the Court, Commissioner Gorman was in the solo practice of law, serving clients in Washoe County and throughout northern Nevada in the areas of estate planning, probate, and business matters.  Commissioner Gorman also served as Chief Judge of the Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe")

His middle name could, but does not have to, be Joseph. One in the United States can call himself anything he wants without changing the name; one example is Jesse Ventura.
(ii) Each judicial district in Nevada has one probabe commissioner, who is a special master whom District Court may assign him or her to hear a case first who then makes Report and Recommendation (R & R), to a judge in District Court who after arguments from the parties (objecting to or defending the R & R) decide whether to adopt or reject it, or hear the case by the judge himself.
(d) Rupert Murdoch
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch
(table; section 7 Personal life)
has had five wives, and six children.
• with first wife had a daughter Prudence Murdoch, born in 1958)'
• with second wife Anna Torv (who has married three times, with second husband surnamed Mann (who died) which explains why she was mentioned as "Anna Murdoch Mann" in the NYT report), producing Elisabeth Murdoch (1968), Lachlan Murdoch (1971), and James Murdoch (1972). You see, daughters do not change maiden names after marriage.
• with third wife Wendi Deng fathered Grace (2001) and Chloe (2003).



(2) McKenna Ross, Report: Murdoch brings media empire succession fight to Nevada courts. Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 25, 2024.
https://www.reviewjournal.com/bu ... ada-courts-3102101/