Ugly Inheritance War Pits Tycoons Son Against Mistress

A Los Angeles socialite says she is owed millions from the estate of a late Dallas real-estate developer. The Texas billionaires son is accusing her of extortion.

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The son of a Texas billionaire is waging a messy legal battle against his late dads alleged mistress, accusing the Los Angeles socialite of extortion in hopes of avoiding paying her the millions she claims shes owed by his fathers estate.

Bradford Phillips, son of Dallas real-estate developer Gene E. Phillips, filed a pair of lawsuits against Marsana de Monserat in California and Texas early this year. The suits came after De Monserat demanded $2.6 million in refinancing proceeds from one Florida rental property she owned but had allowed the late Phillips to manage, along with $1.7 million from a promissory note she said was given to her.

As reported by local news outlet, MyNewsLA.com, Santa Monica Judge Mark Epstein made a tentative ruling against Phillips on Monday, saying he would likely dismiss his lawsuit because the letter from De Monserats attorney was protected under the states anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) statute. Epstein did not, however, indicate when hed issue his final ruling.

For her part, De Monserat, in a recent court filing, said Phillips complaint against her is an attempt to abuse the legal system, with the hopes of scaring [her] into walking away from her business interests with his late father.

Neither Bradford Phillips, De Monserat, nor their attorneys immediately responded to requests for comment on Tuesday.

Phillips original complaint called De Monserat one of several long-term mistresses of his late dad, who he alleges made loans to, provided investment opportunities to, and otherwise provided cash to De Monserat due to their personal relationship. (Phillips first amended complaint, it is worth noting, dropped the term mistress when referring to De Monserat.)

While Mr. Phillips was very successful, he was also a controversial figure, the original filing says of the plaintiffs father, Gene. The document adds that Bradford Phillips, the CEO of a life insurance company, has had to overcome his fathers reputation with the companies regulators and others.

In the missive, Polzer accused Phillips of fraudulent activityincluding misappropriating the $2.6-million loan which De Monserat alleges was connected to a Department of Housing and Urban Development projectand warned hed alert the Internal Revenue Service, HUD, and the Federal Housing Association. Phillips has not been charged with any crime in connection with the episode.

A copy of Polzers letter, attached to court filings, indicates that the attorney noted what might happen if Phillips did not respond.

We will be forced to pursue other remedies available to us, including but not limited to filing suit against you individually in connection with, among other things, your misappropriation of the $2.6MM, filing suit against the Decedents estate for fraudulent inducement involving various signatures he procured from our client, as well as seeking more information from the government agencies.

In other words, potentially getting the feds involved.

Polzers letter also alleged the late Gene Phillips appeared to run a purposefully complex web of entities and oversaw the execution of many related- party transactions, to benefit himself or his friends.

Our client would like to extricate herself from this web, Polzer wrote.

In a declaration attached to De Monserats motion to strike the lawsuit, the socialite said she first met Gene Phillips in the mid-1990s. We subsequently became close personally [sic] friends and began working together on a series of real estate ventures, beginning with the purchase of an apartment complex in Los Angeles in the late 1990s, De Monserat stated.

De Monserat added that Gene Phillips maintained complete control over the management and operations of the various properties that I owned and those in which I invested pursuant to Gene Phillips advice and direction.

Two years later, De Monserat claims, Gene suggested she buy a property in Texas by refinancing the Florida complex. Then, in May 2019, De Monserats company, FL Westwood, obtained a loan that was insured by HUD to use as a down payment in the Lone Star State.

Although FL Westwood was the owner and borrower and I believe that I signed all loan documents on behalf of FL Westwood, this HUD refinance transaction was at all times orchestrated and directed by Mr. Phillips and those who worked for him or were associated with him, De Monserat added in the declaration. The refinance closed in May of 2019, several months prior to Gene Phillips passing.

Neither FL Westwood nor I received a penny of FL Westwoods loan proceeds, De Monserat continued. They were wired to my now fired management company who then transferred all of the refinance proceeds at the direction of Gene Phillips to an account controlled by one of Gene Phillips business associates.

De Monserat says that after Gene died, Bradford Phillips directed his fathers companies to freeze her out of real estate ventures she had shared with the tycoon.

In a motion to strike the lawsuit, De Monserat also took aim at Bradford Phillips original complaint, in which he described Gene as leading a controversial life while amassing his $3.5 billion fortune. Her pleading said that Bradford Phillips seemed to disapprove of the manner in which his father amassed his fortune, but now wants to reap the rewards of his wealth as the executor of his estate by taking from those with whom his father entrusted and readily engaged in business.

She also accused Bradford Phillips and his attorney of trying to demean her by referring to her as one of Mr. Phillips long-term mistresses, with nothing to offer from a business perspective

In his complaint, Bradford Phillips called De Monserats allegations unfounded and said the specter of investigations by various governmental entities would cause a significant disruption to his business.

The lawsuit adds that Phillips was put in fear that criminal allegations would be made against him, his family, and the Estate and that this fear caused him significant emotional distress and has caused him damages as a proximate result.

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