Rupert Murdoch's trust trial concludes with judge's ruling yet to come

By Hannah Miller
 

Arguments in a trial over Rupert Murdoch’s effort to change his family trust and hand sole control of his media empire to his eldest son concluded Monday, according to a person familiar with the matter.
 

The Reno, Nevada, probate commissioner hearing the case didn’t render a verdict, leaving the billionaire and his children to await a final ruling from the court.

The case will determine the future of some of the highest-profile media properties in the world. Through a family trust, Murdoch, 93, owns about 40 per cent of the voting stock in both Fox Corp., the parent of Fox News, and News Corp., which counts the Wall Street Journal and the Times of London among its many holdings. 

Upon Murdoch’s death, control of the trust was to be split among his four oldest kids. Instead, he has sought to give voting power to his eldest son, Lachlan, who serves as chief executive officer of Fox and chairman of News Corp. Reuters reported earlier Monday on the trial’s conclusion.

The case was heard in probate court, which manages legal proceedings around the transfer of property after a person’s death, and wasn’t open to the public. News outlets, including the New York Times Co. and CNN, unsuccessfully sought to open up the proceedings.

A Nevada probate commissioner determined in June that Murdoch could change the trust as long as he was doing so in good faith and in the best interest of his heirs. Murdoch argued that the change would benefit all six of his children because it would prevent Lachlan’s more politically liberal siblings — Prudence, Elisabeth and James — from making Fox News more moderate, thus hurting its value as a conservative media brand. 

The trio chose to share legal counsel and take their father to court in a trial that began Sept. 16, arguing that the change violates the trust’s original conditions and that they would be wrongfully disenfranchised. Murdoch hired his own team of lawyers, including former US Attorney General William Barr, who was spotted at the Reno courthouse as Murdoch’s team emerged from a fleet of SUVs last week. 

Nevada’s lack of income and inheritance taxes, as well as its confidentiality protections have made it a top venue for family trust management. Picking Reno over the bustling hub of Las Vegas added another layer of privacy to the closed-door proceedings, according to Nevada probate lawyer Elyse Tyrell.

“Things tend to be a little more under the radar, quieter in Reno,” she said.

One effective argument Murdoch’s team could have made for expanding Lachlan’s power is that having four trustees with differing opinions would ultimately harm the trust by resulting in disagreements and expensive litigation that chip away at its assets, according to Tyrell.

Creators have the ability to go back in and “correct” trusts, she said. “We have flexibility to do that.”

The siblings are known for their diverging outlooks, especially in politics. While Lachlan has embraced his father’s more conservative views, James has endorsed Kamala Harris for president, and has supported climate causes alongside his wife Kathryn. Prudence and Elisabeth are less outspoken about politics, but are also considered to be more left-leaning than their father or Lachlan.

After the judge’s ruling, which is known as a recommendation in probate court, either party can appeal within 14 days, according to Reno probate attorney Doug Clark. A district judge can then either uphold or reverse the recommendation. From there, either side can file an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court. 

“It can take years,” Clark said. 

Drawn-out proceedings could mean that the nonagenarian Murdoch may very well die before the issues around his trust are resolved.

Steve Oshins, a Nevada attorney, said changes to trusts can often be made without legal battles and that families can even opt for an out-of-court option known as a non-judicial settlement agreement to resolve disputes. But in complicated cases with valuable assets, that’s not always the path taken. 

“The more money involved, the more potential for greed and the more potential that somebody is going to be jealous,” he said.