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MLK JR. SIBLINGS AT WAR: Bernice & MLK III file suit against Dexter who says he's 'shocked.'
Dexter accused of mismanaging family funds
Unfortunately the family legacy is being tarnished because they're embroiled in a divisive dispute over their father's estate.
Bernice King and Martin Luther King III filed a lawsuit Thursday to force their younger brother, Dexter King, to open the books of MLK Jr.'s estate.
The lawsuit claims that Dexter King, the estate's administrator, is refusing to provide his two siblings with documents concerning the estate's operations. That includes financial records, contracts and other documents, the lawsuit said.
The AP reports that Jock Smith, an attorney representing the elder siblings in the case, said Friday that the decision to sue their brother was not an easy one.
"This was very heartfelt on their part and very, very taxing on them to have to do this," Smith said. "They are not happy that they had to bring this action. All they're asking for is ... to be included in their daddy's legacy."
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King siblings (from 2005 photo): Dexter, Bernice, Yolanda (deceased) & Martin, III
Meanwhile -- from his home in Malibu, California -- he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was "shocked" by the lawsuit.
"It totally blindsided me. I think maybe it was a reckless attempt to express their grievances. They are false claims and I will (be) addressing that accordingly," the King Center's executive director said. "We are private family," King said. "It is a private business matter, you know, a family dispute, if you will. It's probably blown out of proportion, but until I've had a chance to thoroughly review the complaint, it's just kind of difficult for me to address it."
At stake are millions of dollars in assets linked to MLK Jr's intellectual property rights, including the $32 million that donors in Atlanta recently paid to acquire 10,000 pages of his papers.
The lawsuit claims that Dexter King and the estate "converted substantial funds from the estate's financial account ... for their own use" on June 20 without notifying his siblings.
The lawsuit also claims that Dexter King may have taken assets from the firm "for his own benefit" and that the assets may have been "misapplied or wasted."
Dexter King is also chief executive officer of The King Center and chairman of its board of directors. He has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.
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