Robert B. Cohen, the founder of the Hudson Media empire, whose last wishes are at the center of nasty legal battle here, was either a gravely ill old man unable to speak in his final years, or an opinionated octogenarian who enjoyed attending family bar mitzvahs. Those were the clashing portraits presented in state court on Monday of the man, who died in 2012, leaving behind a fortune that is now the subject of a bitter fight that has drawn in some of the ultrawealthy of New York society.
Samantha Perelman, Mr. Cohen’s 23-year-old granddaughter and the daughter of the billionaire financier Ronald O. Perelman, is suing her uncle James Cohen in New Jersey Superior Court, arguing that he unduly influenced her grandfather, siphoning hundreds of millions of dollars out of his estate and sharply reducing her inheritance.
On Monday, Judge Estela M. De La Cruz heard opening arguments in the emotionally charged case, and the war of words quickly turned ugly. Lawyers for James Cohen, who now runs Hudson Media, portrayed Ms. Perelman as an insensitive rich girl who paid little attention to her grandfather. One of them, Benjamin Clarke, said Ms. Perelman last saw her grandfather in June 2008 when he attended her high school graduation, and had no idea of her grandfather’s mental capacity. In a statement, Ms. Perelman said subsequent attempts to see her grandfather were stymied by the Cohen family. She says she is still close to her grandmother.
The elder Mr. Cohen, Mr. Clarke said, may have been in a physically weakened state during his final years, but the 86-year-old man’s estate planning, dating back years, will show he always intended to leave his business to his son. Mr. Clarke added that Mr. Cohen had carefully outlined what was to be left to Claudia Cohen, Samantha’s mother, who died in 2007.
While the bequests to Ms. Cohen were substantial â€" cash, homes and a 30.6-karat diamond ring, for instance â€" they total a small percentage of the value of Hudson Media, a big wholesaler of newspapers and magazines, which James now controls.
“Robert Cohen did not respond well to pressure,†Mr. Clarke told the court. “Robert Cohen told you what to do.â€
The nonjury trial is the latest chapter in the litigation between the Cohen family and Ms. Perelman and her father. Claudia Cohen, a former columnist for The New York Post’s Page Six, was married to Mr. Perelman for almost 10 years. Samantha Perelman was the couple’s only child.
In court documents, Ms. Perelman estimates that her share of the estate would have been valued at roughly $700 million when her grandfather died last year, if not for her uncle’s actions.
Now Ms. Perelman is arguing that the court should validate a 2004 will that she says would have left her mother, and ultimately her, with significantly more than her grandfather’s subsequent wills provided. The 2004 will said that in the event of her mother’s death, Samantha was to inherit her mother’s share of the estate.
The battle has drawn in Mr. Perelman, the financier, who was executor of Ms. Cohen’s will. He first sued Robert Cohen in 2008, arguing that Robert had made an oral promise to Claudia to leave half his fortune to her. He lost, and now Samantha is leading the legal charge, arguing that her uncle manipulated her grandfather into leaving him the bulk of his fortune.
Paul Rowe, a lawyer for Ms. Perelman, said Robert Cohen for years could not dress himself, had to eat through a tube and by 2005 was able to speak only a few words.
“Was Robert Cohen susceptible to undue influence?†Mr. Rowe asked. The evidence, he said, will show “overwhelmingly†that he was.
At the heart of this case is a payment of more than $600 million that went to James Cohen after the sale of Hudson Media’s retail operations. Ms. Perelman has argued that part of this payment should have gone to her grandfather, and would go to her if the 2004 will were upheld. Mr. Clarke said, however, that the transfer was simply part of Robert’s estate planning, reflecting “the passing of the family torch from one generation to another.â€
But Mr. Rowe said evidence in this case, which is expected to run for several weeks, would show James Cohen had a heavy hand in his father’s estate planning, resulting not only in the improper transfer of the cash, but also in “substantial bequests†being stripped from Samantha.
In the morning, Susan Hess, the wife of the oil scion John Hess and a close friend of Claudia’s, sat next to Ms. Perelman in court. Ms. Perelman, who is a student at Columbia University, left the trial after the morning session to attend classes.
The afternoon session was dominated by the testimony of Juan Espinal, a Hudson Media employee who for years was the driver of Robert Cohen and his wife, Harriet, and now chauffeurs James Cohen.
The two sides wrestled with the witness, each hoping Mr. Espinal would help their case. During questioning from Ms. Perelman’s lawyer, Mr. Espinal testified that in Mr. Cohen’s final years it was hard for him to speak or move without assistance. Still, on cross-examination, Mr. Espinal testified that several times a year he took Mr. Cohen to various horse racing tracks, and that his boss appeared able to read the program, although Mr. Espinal had to hold the program up close to Mr. Cohen’s head.
Judge De La Cruz, who proved early on to be a strong presence in the courtroom, had her hands full refereeing the lawyers on Monday. “If I am going to go through this with 40 witnesses I am going to age significantly,†she said at one point as the lawyers sparred during the examination of Mr. Espinal.
