Foley Represents Paul Newman’s Daughters in Lawsuit Against the Late Actor’s Charity Foundation

Foley & Lardner LLP is representing Susan Newman and Nell Newman, daughters of the late actor Paul Newman, in their lawsuit against their father’s charitable foundation, Newman’s Own Foundation. They are seeking $1.6 million in damages for breach of fiduciary duty.

The Newman’s Own Foundation, established in 2008, is funded primarily by profits from the Newman’s Own line of food and drink products. The Newman daughters allege that their father allowed the foundation to use his name and likeness to generate revenues under the condition that $400,000 be allocated annually to each of his daughters’ individual charitable foundations to, in turn, donate to charities identified by the daughters’ foundations. The daughters’ lawsuit asserts that Newman’s Own Foundation has strayed from their father’s original wishes in a variety of ways and limited his daughters’ involvement in charitable giving by, among other things, cutting those payments in half in recent years.

Foley assisted the Newman daughters in filing a lawsuit on August 23, 2022, in the Superior Court of Connecticut. The Foley team representing the Newman sisters is led by Andrew Lee and includes Gregory Marino, Samuel Fishman, Tim Patterson, Jason Kohout, and Abbey Magnuson.

Lee stated, “This lawsuit does not seek personal compensation for Mr. Newman’s daughters, but simply seeks to hold Newman’s Own Foundation accountable to the charities they have shortchanged in recent years and would ensure they receive an increased level of support in the future, in line with Mr. Newman’s wishes.”

Foley’s multidisciplinary Sports & Entertainment Industry Team provides comprehensive, integrated legal counsel for the full range of commercial and regulatory issues facing organizations in the sports and entertainment industry. The team is comprised of lawyers with the highest level of legal acumen, as well as numerous professionals who have held senior and high-profile leadership positions in the sports industry.

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