Trust Dispute

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Richard D. Doermer v. Oxford Financial Group, LTD.,

Case No.: 17-1659

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and KANNE, Circuit Judge.

Focus: Trust Dispute  

Family disputes over who owns what are depressingly common—indeed, they are the stuff of the legal practice of many an estate lawyer. Richard Doermer and his sister, Kathryn Doermer Callen, are living examples of this phenomenon. The two siblings have spent the better part of the past decade embroiled in legal disputes about how to manage their family’s fortune. A little over a year ago, Richard and Kathryn appeared before this court after Richard sued his sister and his nephew on behalf of a family nonprofit foundation over which Richard sought greater control. Doermer v. Callen, 847 F.3d 522 (7th Cir. 2017). We affirmed the district court’s dismissal of that action because Richard lacked capacity to bring a derivative action under Indiana law.

Now Richard has returned. This time his suit is about the family trust, not the family foundation. And rather than suing his sister directly, Richard has targeted his sister’s financial advisor, Oxford Financial Group. He alleges that Oxford gave Kathryn negligent advice, which caused her to mismanage the trust. Richard further seeks to compel Kathryn to join the suit challenging her own financial decisions, by purporting to name her an “involuntary plaintiff” in the matter.

We need not wade into the dispute over the soundness of Oxford’s financial advice or Kathryn’s ultimate trust‐management decisions, because Richard, once again, lacks capacity to pursue this suit under state law and thus fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.