Nevada Court Rejects Rupert Murdoch’s Bid to Alter Succession Plan for His Media Empire

A probate court has ruled against Rupert Murdoch in a petition to change the terms of his succession plan to ensure that his eldest son Lachlan remains in charge of his conservative media empire after his death,as reported, citing a sealed document.

A Nevada commissioner on Saturday found that Murdoch acted in “bad faith” in attempting to change the terms of the irrevocable family trust the instrument through which he controls News Corp. and Fox, according to the report. As currently constructed, the trust gives equal voting shares to his four eldest children. 

Although Lachlan is currently chair of News Corp., he could be stripped of his title by his siblings, largely seen as more politically moderate and have banded together to oppose revisions to the trust.

Edmund J. Gorman Jr. concluded that the legal maneuver initiated by Murdoch is a “carefully crafted charade” to cement Lachlan’s control. 

He ruled against Murdoch that maintaining Fox as a conservative political media force by ensuring that Lachlan’s brothers and sisters won’t be able to wrest control of the company from him and moderate its coverage is in the best interest of all of the media juggernaut’s beneficiaries.

Lawyers for Murdoch and James, Elisabeth and Prudence didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Adam Streisand, representing Murdoch, told the Times that an appeal is planned.

The case now moves to a district court, which will decide whether to accept a recommended resolution by the commissioner. More litigation could follow.

A two-week saga in a Nevada court, which kept the proceedings and filings under seal, examined proposed changes to the trust. It was revealed that Lachlan initiated plans to change the trust when he began to suspect that James, who’s no longer with the company, was planning to oust him after their father’s death. He allegedly introduced the plan last year at a special meeting of the trust. “Today is about Dad’s wishes and confirming all of our support for him and for his wishes,” he wrote in a text message to Elisabeth the day of the meeting,It shouldn’t be difficult or controversial. Love you, Lachlan.”

To solidify Lachlan as his successor, Murdoch had to prove that the changes are being implemented in good faith, with the purpose of benefiting all of the trust’s members.

James, who at one point was seen as the heir apparent to his father’s media empire but lost a power struggle to his brother, has taken aim at his family’s business. He stepped down from the News Corp. board in 2020 due to “disagreements over certain editorial content published by the company’s news outlets.” He could have been alluding to Fox’s coverage that the election was stolen, which has led to at least three shareholder lawsuits against the board, plus a $787.5 million payout to Dominion Voting Systems. Voting technology company Smartmatic continues to pursue a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against the network.

Erizia Rubyjeana

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