November 11th, 2011

When individual fiduciaries are found to have breached their fiduciary duties, they are often found to have received some help.  Many times a spouse, lover, or business partner is seen lurking in the wings, aiding and abetting the breach of fiduciary duty.  From an aggrieved beneficiary’s or successor fiduciary’s perspective, it’s imperative to get that joint-wrongdoer brought into court, where he or she can be held to account for the wrongdoing and – if there’s a recovery to be had – reimburse the estate or trust for damages.  In other words, a person cannot be held to account unless he or she is actually a party to the litigation.

In Estate of Brown, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, decided that the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County exceeded its authority when it imposed a surcharge on Kenneth Pearl, who was not a party to the underlying proceeding. (more…)