Critically-acclaimed singer Leonard Cohen’s family is suing his former lawyers for malpractice, almost a decade after his death.
The lawsuit claimed that a former partner with Ervin Cohen & Jessup (ECJ) had forged documents that named Cohen’s manager, Robert Kory, as the only trustee of his $50 million estate—against the singer’s will, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In 2022, two of Cohen’s children had Kory removed from the trustee position after a legal battle where they accused the manager of seizing control of the fortune. At the time, Kory claimed that he had “expressly followed the wishes” of Cohen despite the family’s claim.
In the newest suit filed last week, it alleged that Kory’s position as trustee allowed him to “abuse” and “siphon” the fortune as the firm covered it up for years, the outlet wrote.
Cohen, who died in 2016 at 82, had an eerily-similar experience before his death. In 2005, the “Hallelujah” creator accused his manager at the time, Kelley Lynch, of taking more than $5 million from him, leaving him with $150,000. It forced the singer, once in retirement, to tour, which became an astounding success.
Cohen won a $9.5 million settlement by default after the manager at the time did not show up for court.
The star never recovered the funds.
In 2012, Lynch went to jail with an 18-month sentence after violating Cohen and other’s restraining order and sending thousands of emails and voice mails.
In 2010, Cohen’s children and his former partner were taken out of the role, Kory being named the sole successor. But after concerns of Kory’s job handling the estate, he had reinstated children Adam and Lorca Cohen, alongside Anjani Thomas, as trustees just 6 years later.
A month after the change, Cohen died, leaving behind an estimated $50 million in riches.
The lawsuit alleged that from 2018 to 2023, Kory had charged over $18 million to the estate, while he paid himself, family members and businesses. One of the charges was $6.1 million for bookkeeping, management and legal fees. The lawsuit also said that, in 2023, former partner of the firm Reeve Chudd had admitted under oath that he removed a page in his trust after his death, solidifying Kory as the only trustee.
“[Cohen] depended on his lawyers to protect his family’s interests and they failed in that task,” John Rushing, an attorney for the trust, said.
