Billionaire Bren Owes Adult Kids Zip, Jury Rules; They Had Sought $134M in Child Support
If their mother had taken their billionaire father to court for child support years ago, she would have gotten some $400,000 a month, contend Christie Bren, 22, and David Bren, 18.
So Donald Bren should now be required to pay them some $134 million, they and their mother, Jennifer McKay Gold, 55, who was never married to Bren, argued in a Los Angeles Superior Court case filed in 2003. Today a jury gave the claim short shrift, quickly ruling that the billionaire owed them nothing, according to ABC News and the L.A Now blog of the Los Angeles Times.
Bren, 78, is chairman of the Irvine Co. He has an estimated net worth of $12 billion, putting him in 16th place on the Forbes magazine list of America’s 400 wealthiest individuals.
The jury deliberated only a few hours before letting Bren off the hook, according to the Orange County Register.
At issue in the case was whether Bren had defrauded Gold by promising to maintain a parental role with their children while persuading her to sign child-support contracts that provided for him to pay considerably less than a court allegedly would have awarded, the newspaper says.
Instead of the approximately $9,000 a month, on average, that Bren paid, they would have gotten some $400,000 monthly if a court had awarded child support, the plaintiffs argued.
Attorney John Quinn served as lead counsel for Bren. Gold and the children were represented by Hillel Chodos.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “In LA Trial, Billionaire’s Kids Seek $100M in Retroactive Support”
