Robert T. Lemen

Trust and Estate Litigation (Inheritance Disputes)

• A trustee and his agent gutted the value of a trust estate by transferring its assets to himself and his family members, thereby denying the lawful, designated beneficiary his rightful inheritance. The trustee refused to return the money he disbursed, and after a five-week trial, Bob was able to secure a judgment against the trustee for compensatory damages, statutory penalties, and attorney’s fees and costs.
• Defended the adult children of a deceased whose (former) girlfriend sued them claiming that she was secretly married to their widowed father and was entitled to half of his estate.
• Represented the son and sole heir of his parents’ estate in a lawsuit brought by his cousin who claimed that his aunt and uncle promised him and his family members a multi-million-dollar share of a trust estate. After litigating the matter, the cousin finally agreed to dismiss his lawsuit and take nothing from the estate.
• Successfully defended family members from a lawsuit brought by an aggressive religious organization that claimed it was entitled to several hundred thousand dollars from the decedent’s trust.
• Negotiated a very favorable settlement for the heirs of an elderly woman against claims asserted against her estate by her deceased husband’s business associate.

Partnership Investment Dispute

• An original investor in a real estate partnership holding an apartment building who failed to contribute his time and resources for several years before returning to claim a 50% ownership interest in the now valuable apartment building. Bob obtained a unanimous defense verdict against the former partner who was ordered to relinquish his interest in the building and to pay Bob’s clients their court costs.
• Recovered several hundred thousand dollars for an award-winning cannabis cultivator whose business partners had misappropriated his plants and genetic code.

Employee-Employer Lawsuits

• A mental health services company was sued by its former CEO for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Negotiated a very favorable settlement for the mental health clinic and preserved its impeccable reputation and licensure status.
• Successfully defended a large manufacturer against employees who claimed that they were not paid overtime and given their full rest and meal breaks.

Business Litigation

• A longtime insurance agent was summarily terminated by a national insurance brokerage firm. After terminating the agent, the brokerage attempted to prevent the agent from transferring his insurance clients to his new firm, causing him to sustain substantial financial losses and emotional distress. After a two-week binding arbitration, secured a unanimous award from the arbitration panel for compensatory and punitive damages, after which the insurance brokerage agreed to pay out a multi-million-dollar settlement.