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Bryan Cave Sued Over Pricey Alleged Error in Prenuptial Agreement
The National Law Journal
September 10, 2009
A prominent St. Louis businessman has filed a legal malpractice suit against Bryan Cave, alleging that the firm botched his prenuptial agreement, causing him $10 million in losses tied in part to the appreciation of his high-profile modern art collection, which includes works by Jackson Pollack and Jasper Johns.
Donald Bryant claimed that Bryan Cave partner Lawrence Brody failed to factor in the capital gains tax on the marital estate that Bryant shared with his former wife, Barbara.
"What Bryan Cave failed to do is properly account for the appreciation of the marital estate, and a large part of that is the artwork," said Matt Donohue, an attorney at Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf in Portland, Ore. "They failed to write clearly in the agreement whether [Barbara Bryant's settlement payment] was based on the gross value or the net. They kind of blew it on the taxes."
Through his attorney, Robert Haar of Haar & Woods in St. Louis, Brody declined a request for comment.
Bryant is the chairman and chief executive of wealth management firm The Bryant Group. He also owns the Bryant Family Vineyards in California's Napa Valley.
Brody drafted Bryant's original prenuptial agreement in 1981 and a 1989 revision, according to the complaint, which was filed in St. Louis County, Mo., Circuit Court in late July. That agreement provided that in case of a divorce, Barbara Bryant would receive a cash settlement tied to the appreciated value of the couple's marital assets. The agreement didn't stipulate whether the value of the appreciated marital assets -- including the pricey art collection -- would include a deduction for any capital gains tax owed on the sale of those assets.
The couple divorced in 2007 and the prenuptial agreement was executed. In line with Missouri state law, the court determined that the value of the marital estate did not include a deduction for the capital gains tax.
The lawsuit alleges that Brody should have stipulated in the prenuptial agreement that any capital gains tax should be deducted from the value of the couple's assets, and that Brody was negligent in failing to do so. Bryant is asking for $10 million in damages.
