The children of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are following in his footsteps with their non-violent approach. Instead of going for each other’s throats over the rights of their parent’s belnmgings, Bernice King and Martin Luther King II are taking their brother Dexter to court and accusing him of converting “substantial funds from the estate’s financial account at Bank of America” for his own use.
Jury selection begins today over the accused mishandling of assets. According to CNN, the lawsuit contends Dexter illegally and fraudulently converted estate funds and should be forced to repay the money and reimburse the plaintiffs’ legal costs. The document, which lists five counts, does not say how much he is accused of taking.
Also named as a defendant is the Martin Luther King Jr. estate, which is incorporated. Dexter King is the corporation’s president and chief executive, in addition to being the estate’s administrator.
Martin III and Bernice are shareholders in the company and own 20% of its outstanbding shares.
In a countersuit, Dexter King has asked a judge to force Bernice to turn over their mother’s personal papers, including love letters central to a now-defunct $1.4 million book deal. Bernice is the administrator for her late mother’s Coretta’s estate.
Martin III and Bernice King complained that Dexter King refused to hold shareholders meetings, which they said was another example of his lack of transparency in handling their father’s estate.
There had been no shareholders’ meeting of the corporation since 2004, something that Dexter King blamed on the distraction caused by the deaths of his mother and sister. Judge Ural D. Glanville ordered a meeting, which was held last week.
The judge issued an order saying “the court is extremely troubled.”
He noted that Dexter King, as the majority shareholder, wields significant power in the corporation because he holds 80 percent of its shares. He alone can constitute a quorum for transacting business, the order says.
The judge warned all three Kings that any failure to comply with the Georgia Corporation Code could result in the dissolution of the corporation and the appointment of a receiver.
