There has been a 68 page opinion rendered by the 9th Circuit Court regarding Anna Nicole Smith’s battle for her late husbands estate in re: Marshall v. Stern and the estate of Vicki Lynn Marshall aka Anna Nicole Smith.

Just a precursory look at the document indicated that Anna Nicole Smith’s estate will walk away empty handed and so will Howard K. Stern and all the lawyers in various parts of the country that Stern apparently owes money to, according to statements he has made.

Excerpt:
We conclude that the findings of the Texas probate court should be afforded preclusive effect because it is the earliest final judgment on matters relevant to this proceeding. The bankruptcy court exceeded its statutory grant of power and constitutional limitations on that power when it purported to enter a final judgment in favor of Vickie Lynn Marshall on her counterclaim….

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2010/03/19/02-56002.pdf

UPDATE!!!!!!

March 19, 2010
Statement from the Marshall Family
For Immediate Release

Contact:
David Margulies
(214) 368-0909
(214) 914-1275

Statement From The Family of E. Pierce Marshall

DALLAS (March 19, 2010) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today vindicated the efforts of the late E. Pierce Marshall to uphold his father’s estate plan.

The Ninth Circuit opinion supports the 2001 95-day jury trial in Texas Probate Court, which established that Anna Nicole Smith was never entitled to any assets from the Marshall family beyond the $7 million in cash and gifts she received from J. Howard Marshall, II . The jury also unequivocally rejected Smith’s claim that E. Pierce Marshall and others interfered with her receiving any additional gifts while her husband was alive or at his death.

“The lies that were told about told about E. Pierce Marshall have finally been put to rest,” said a statement issued by the Marshall family. “Pierce Marshall was never intimidated by Anna Nicole and her bevy of contingency fee lawyers’ use of her celebrity and the legal system to try to loot J. Howard ’s estate. We are proud to have supported his efforts and continue that -fight. Our only wish would be that Pierce were here to see his vindication.”

“Many people have asked over the many years if the -fight to uphold my father’s last wishes was worth it,” Pierce Marshall said in a statement issued in 2004. “I know Anna and her lawyers were counting on our family giving up and paying them an absurd sum to go away. That was never going to happen. We never wavered from our belief that, in the end, justice based on the rule of law would prevail.

“We are deeply appreciative that the Ninth Circuit took the time to closely examine the important legal issues raised by this case and agreed with our analysis of the law and facts regarding those issues,” said G. Eric Brunstad, Jr. who represented the Marshall family.

“Anna Nicole Smith and her attorneys never presented a single witness on document that upheld her absurd claims,” said David Margulies, a spokesperson for the Marshall family.
“Texas jurors in the Probate Case listened carefully to all the evidence Smith and her lawyers presented and ruled in favor of E. Pierce Marshall on every point.”

The 9th Circuit upheld the Marshall family’s argument that the case has been fully adjudicated in the Texas Probate Court, which ruled in favor of E. Pierce Marshall and against Smith on every issue. The 9th Circuit ruling states in part: “The district court should have afforded preclusive effect to the Texas probate court’s factual findings and relevant legal conclusions.

The determinations adverse to Vickie Lynn Marshall in the Texas probate court prevent her from establishing the elements of her counterclaim, such as J. Howard Marshall II’s intent to give her a substantial inter vivos gift, the tortuous nature of Pierce Marshall’s conduct regarding the estate planning documents, and the reasonableness and amount of her expectancy. We reverse the judgment of the district court and remand with instructions that judgment be entered in favor of the Estate of Pierce Marshall.”

UPDATE II

From Neil McCabe, counsel for Virgie Arthur who is Anna Nicole Smith’s mother.

When asked about possible appeal:

The losing side can see if the Supreme Court wants to hear it or ask for rehearing by the 3-justice 9th Circuit panel that issued the opinion or the 9th Circuit en banc. En banc rehearing rarely is granted in the 9th Circuit and, if it is granted, means that 11 justices will rehear the case.  Even more rarely, all of the 9th Circuit justices will rehear a case. If all of the judgeships are filled, that would mean 29 justices rehearing the case, but the court’s website shows 3 vacancies right now. I once argued on rehearing en banc in front of 17 justices in the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. That was the first time that all 17 judgeships were filled at the same time and all 17 sat for oral argument.  See the rules (35-1 to 35-4) that govern rehearing.

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/uploads/rules/frap.pdf

A status conference hearing was held before Judge Larry Weiman in Harris County District Court today. A new scheduling order was agreed to by the parties and the court. The new order pushes all deadlines back 120 days because of the cases in the court of appeals. Defendants Art Harris, Howard K. Stern and Teresa Stephens have appeals pending.  The trial is tentatively set for Sept. 21, 2010, subject to the approval of the court coordinator, who was not present today.

On the phone were Charles Babcock for Art Harris/CBS, Nelda “Rose” Turner, pro se, L. Lin Wood for Howard K. Stern, and Luke Lantta for Stern. Present in the courtroom were Neil McCabe and co-counsel Carl Shaw, Diana Marshall for Larry Birkhead, Richard Hess for TMZ/Harvey Levin, and another representative from Jackson Walker.  Bonnie Stern and Teresa Stephens did not call in or respond to the proposed new schedule. Apparently Lyndal Harrington did not participate either.

Judge Weiman worked on the parties to get an agreement about a subpoena to Yahoo for Stern for his email as Stern admittedly uses Yahoo’s web based services. Wood, who was calling from his car, reiterated that Stern’s special appearance had not been heard and that he had not been deposed.  Ultimately Judge Weiman agreed that Arthur should get electronic discovery before having to depose Stern.

Neil McCabe for Virgie Arthur explained to the court what the Rule 11 agreement was between Stern and Arthur about discovery, the special appearance, and deposing Stern. Wood did not agree. McCabe pointed out that the reason Rule 11 exists is so that there are not arguments concerning agreements between the parties. Here is the Rule 11 that was agreed to back in November of 2009.

Wood said there should have been a subpoena to Yahoo long ago.  McCabe asked the court if Mr. Wood would facilitate that, and Wood agreed.  At the court’s suggestion and by an agreement that the judge worked out on the spot, a subpoena is to be prepared by McCabe’s office for Wood’s office to send to Yahoo for Howard K. Stern’s web-based emails to and from all defendants including witnesses Von Waddle aka QV and Chrystal Baker aka Havana, if there are any.

Neil McCabe’s office will generate a new order for the signature of the parties and the court.

Meanwhile, the wait continues to see what the court of appeals decides.

Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 11. AGREEMENTS TO BE IN WRITING

Unless otherwise provided in these rules, no agreement between attorneys or parties touching any suit pending will be enforced unless it be in writing, signed and filed with the papers as part of the record, or unless it be made in open court and entered of record.

Wilma Vice steps in and the party is over…

Teresa Stephens who is a defendant in Virgie Arthur’s defamation case against Howard K. Stern got her own lawsuit shut down today.

Surprisingly with all the people she was suing including yours truly, the case dragged on for months and even last night Stephens ran around the internet posting her “Notice of Civil Action” attempting to add more defendants.

Today, O’Quinn Law Firm contractor Wilma Vicedomine through her attorney Jonathan Stoger put the kabosh to the whole crazy lawsuit.

One defendant Carolyn O’Dell aka Einy had filed a counter suit. The Tarrant County judge also threw that one out.

A more comprehensive article to follow later.

Congratulations to all the defendants and a huge thank you to Wilma Vice!

031110 Stephens vs Stephens Etal Order of Dismissal

*Update*

So, it’s Friday and so many are busy. While I was not able to get any specific information as to the dismissal of Carolyn O’Dell’s countersuit, I did get a statement from Wilma Vice’s attorney, Jonathan Stoger.

We are pleased with the court’s ruling and believe that the case did not have legal merit and was properly dismissed. The plaintiff did not appear for the hearing yesterday and her claims were dismissed based on Wilma Vicedomine’s special exceptions and motion to dismiss. The case is now final and we hope that the parties can go forward with their lives.

Perhaps Monday we will be able to get more information and I thank Mr. Stoger for the info he shared with us.

Charles Babcock argued for CBS.  Babcock was accompanied by Mary Lou Flynn-Dupart. Neil McCabe representing Virgie Arthur was accompanied by Carl Shaw and Lilly Cadena of the O’ Quinn Law Firm.

Judge Weiman signed CBS”s  proposed order for protection and said that he had studied the summary judgment issues.

Weiman said he was ready to rule on the summary judgment motion, and as we all know, the Harris County website has the following posted, “2/26/2010 ORDER FOR INTERLOCUTORY SUMMARY JUDGMENT SIGNED 1 page.”

The Judge said that, if he denied the summary judgment motion, then the order of protection would not stay in effect. He also said that, even if he granted the summary judgment, CBS probably would have to submit to discovery that might pertain to other defendants.

Judge Weiman set a status conference for March 12 at 3:30, after conferring with McCabe and Babcock about an appropriate date. Of course CBS being involved in a status conference will depend upon the ruling that we are waiting to see.

Here is today’s order as we wait for the decision that has obviously made.

http://qvsplace.com/022610_Arthur_vs_Stern_etal_CBS_Protective_Order.pdf

UPDATE: It appears that CBS was granted their motion for summary judgment and the order was back dated to the date of submission which was November. The document is not available yet.

UPDATE II: Possibly the district court’s notation of “interlocutory” is not wrong after all. CBS filed a motion for “final” summary judgment, which the court appears to have granted, as reflected on the court’s site, dated Nov.16, 2009. The district clerk’s site shows interlocutory order, which is correct as to the case as a whole, because a summary judgment is not “final” in the true or ultimate sense of the term unless all parties and all issues have been done with. The order may be final as to CBS but it is interlocutory as to the case as a whole.

UPDATE III Order granting summary judgment to CBS Studios.

http://qvsplace.com/Arthur_vs_Stern_etal_Order_Granting_CBS_SJ.pdf

The Hollywood Gossip started their latest Anna Nicole saga article with the words, “This is how a real pimp rolls.”

Apparently, paps caught the daddy of Anna Nicole’s baby daughter out wearing a t-shirt with Anna Nicole’s face on it. Read what they had to say here.

And that’s not the only smack down for Birkhead recently. Attorneys for Anna’s mother, Virgie Arthur are forging ahead with her libel and conspiracy to libel suit against Birkhead, Howard K. Stern, Bonnie Stern, TMZ and Harvey Levin, CBS/Entertainment Tonight, Art Harris (a journalist) and some bloggers.

Published in recent court documents is an email from Howard K. Stern’s sister Bonnie. In part Bonnie Stern says her brother Howard told her that Birkhead INTENTIONALLY leaked information to TMZ’s Harvey Levin. In other words, the group being sued are accused of libeling Mrs. Arthur and their own words may be what ends up in a finding against all of them.

An example is an email in part from Bonnie Stern to Nelda Turner (a blogger defendant in the suit)

…Howard told me this morning that Larry was actually the one who intentionally leaked to TMZ the thing about Virgie and then Harvey Levin looked up and found the family tree…

…He (Howard) said that Larry leaked that because of the amount of viewership TMZ gets and it turned in their favor against Virgie that it happened so it was actually a good thing…..

He (Howard) didn’t understand why everyone was so mad so I told him that Art (Harris) wanted to break that story…He said he would have Art break the one above yet he doesn’t get a lot of viewership…They need the high viewership of TMZ at times…

I hope this helps explain some things.

XO Bonnie

And to think all this time, various entities have been blaming little old me (QV) for the above including the actual guilty ones. I can’t wait until the rest of it comes out in court.

See what Birkhead is being sued for……..

Mrs. Arthur’s Fourth Amended Petition. http://qvsplace.com/Arthur_vs_Stern_etal_Fourth_Amended_Petition.pdf

Free video chat by Ustream

Followers of the Anna Nicole Smith cases may have heard about Jury Consultant and Investigative Strategist, Don Clark leaving the O’Quinn law firm. Although Mr. Clark is no longer operating in his former capacity, he was asked by executor of the John O’Quinn estate, Gerald Treece to work for the estate on certain confidential matters instead of working for the firm.

It’s possible Mr. Clark may also be performing other duties for the firm including assisting Virgie Arthur’s attorney Neil McCabe on matters which can not be disclosed at this time.

As for Wilma Vice, she will continue in her prior support capacity assisting McCabe in all things “Anna Nicole” with her primary focus on the criminal case in California regarding Howard K. Stern, Dr. Eroshevich and Dr. Kapoor.

Wilma said, “my dedication will remain firm and strong for Virgie Arthur and family.”

Wilma revealed that she is also going to reserve more time in her life for family and personal issues and she is planning and anticipating some exciting events for 2010.

*** I need to make a correction. I would like it make it clear that Don Clark no longer works for “The O’Quinn Law Firm”. He may be engaged to do things on an as needed basis but he is no longer an employee of the firm. He works for Gerald Treece. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused. Thanks. QV

Today is the third anniversary of Anna Nicole Smith’s death. This is a video tribute to her and her son Daniel Wayne Smith.

Since there are still questions regarding what’s in store for The O’Quinn Law Firm, I thought it might be appropriate to inquire within.

Senior Attorney Neil McCabe was kind enough to answer my questions. He sees exciting things happening for the firm which recently signed a new five year lease in their current office space. The biggest change for the firm is that it is no longer a company owned by an individual or even stock holders.

Mr. McCabe explained it like this…
The law firm is an asset of the estate, which means that he and the other lawyers and staff in the firm essentially work for a charity, not John O’Quinn, wealthy trial lawyer anymore. The estate is liquidating some assets, such as cars, real estate, etc… but not the law firm, which will continue to generate income for the estate, i.e. for the foundation.

Mr. O’Quinn died without any heirs. He was not married and never had any children.

McCabe said, “The liquidation of part of the car collection, as well as the fact that the will was published in the newspaper and called for the “orderly” winding up and dissolution of the firm, may have created a false impression that the firm now is closing. Even if the plan were to shut down the firm, an “orderly” process can take years, given the major litigation and the many hundreds of clients that the firm now has.  The firm has signed a new 5-year lease on the office space. The firm actually is taking new cases. I acquired a new one yesterday, and there are several others in the pipeline.”

Mr. McCabe also said that things just arent the same without John around and he is missed very much. He added, “The executor of the estate, Gerry Treece, told me yesterday that, contrary to the rumors going around, the firm is not shutting down.  There has been some streamlining of the firm, and a new business model is being developed.”

And that means prior recipients of O’Quinn’s good will such as health, mental health, children’s charities, law schools and science museum charities will continue to benefit from his legacy.

According to the Houston Chronicle, in recent years, a couple of Mr. O’Quinn’s larger gifts were, $1.1 million to South Texas College of Law and $5 million to a psychiatric hospital, The Menninger Clinic, where O’Quinn was on a committee. See photo above…