Jury Says Smith Didn't Have Right to Inheritance
March 8 -- A Texas jury dashed the inheritance hopes of Anna Nicole Smith and the elder son of her late billionaire husband Wednesday, ruling that they were never promised a chunk of the oil baron's estate.
The jury ruled that Pierce Marshall, the youngest son of J. Howard Marshall, was the sole heir and ordered Howard Marshall, the older brother, to pay $35 million in damages and legal fees to his younger sibling. According to Reuters, that ruling — if it is not appealed — could put Howard Marshall in the poorhouse.
The jury's decision was requested by Pierce Marshall, but it won't hurt Smith unless Pierce can use it to his benefit in his planned appeal of her $475 million award from a separate bankruptcy ruling in California. Smith had dropped out of the current Texas case after winning the massive sum from another legal feud over her late husband's estate.
Smith's attorney, Tom Cunningham, told Reuters he didn't think Pierce Marshall's California appeal will bear fruit. "This is obviously an attempt to throw a roadblock in that judgment, but I don't think they're going to be successful," he said.
Pierce Marshall's lead attorney disagreed. "Anna Nicole is a dying candle that will burn less and less bright," Rusty Hardin told reporters. "She is never going to get a dime."
Smith was not in court when the verdict was announced Wednesday.
Lawyers for Howard Marshall said their client would appeal the verdict, but Cunningham said Smith would do her fighting in California, trying to make that judgment stand.
Reuters contributed to this story.
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