Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Prebys's close associates won't surrender to his furious "life partner"

Laurie Anne Victoria hires Gibson Dunn from L.A.

Turner and Prebys at son Eric's 2013 wedding. Turner will inherit $40 million, plus his Point Loma home  and its contents.
Turner and Prebys at son Eric's 2013 wedding. Turner will inherit $40 million, plus his Point Loma home and its contents.

Laurie Anne Victoria, the late Conrad Prebys's long-time second-in-command and chief financial officer who is now chief executive of the firm that made him a billionaire, has hired two top Los Angeles attorneys to battle the lawsuit that Prebys's "life partner," Debra Turner, filed in Superior Court May 15 against Victoria and three other persons on the board of the Prebys Foundation.

Scott A. Edelman and Alex Mircheff, partners of Los Angeles-based firm Gibson Dunn, are representing Victoria, who was head of the trust that actually set up the foundation. They haven't decided yet whether to countersue, try to get the suit thrown out of court, or use some other strategy to defeat it.

At last year's services for Prebys, who gave more than $300 million to San Diego nonprofits, Turner and Victoria were very close, planning and dominating the operation, according to Conrad Prebys's only son, Eric Prebys, a PhD and noted physicist. It was after those services that Eric Prebys learned that he had been completely cut out of his father's will, having been disinherited in several downward moves of the amount he was to get, beginning at $20 million. Conrad Prebys had left his family after a divorce, when Eric Prebys was only two years old. When he was 16, Eric Prebys found his father -- then wealthy and no longer plagued by an alcohol problem -- and, he says, they had a good relationship for more than 35 years. Conrad Prebys would visit Eric and his family every year.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Eric believes that Debra Turner applied "undue pressure" to get Conrad to disinherit him.

According to knowledgeable sources, Debra Turner will inherit $40 million from the late Conrad Prebys, plus his Point Loma home, worth an estimated $5 million, and its contents.

Eric Prebys hired attorneys to challenge the disinheritance. San Diego attorney James Lauth, who had been Conrad Prebys's estate planning attorney, feared that Eric had such a good case that he could get a huge chunk of his father's estate, thus severely weakening the foundation. (Lauth has not returned calls for comment.) In a settlement, the son got $9 million plus $6 million that would ultimately be paid to the Internal Revenue Service.

Debra Turner, president of the foundation, hit the roof over the settlement, claiming that Eric Prebys should get nothing. She demanded that the other foundation board members — Victoria, Joseph Gronotte, Gregory Rogers and Anthony Cortes — reverse the vote that permitted the settlement. When they refused, she filed a lawsuit May 15 in Superior Court, charging the defendants with breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, and other sins. The foundation will be irrevocably devoted to charitable purposes, and there is no argument over that. Turner charges that Victoria made unauthorized gifts from trusts — a breach of duty to the foundation.

The $15 million payment "was a reasonable settlement," says Edelman. For the foundation, "It was a dangerous claim brought by the sole heir of Conrad Prebys. The settlement was an effort to preserve the the ability of the foundation to be a charitable force in San Diego for years to come." The foundation has not yet been funded, but will certainly get a bundle of money. The foundation is the "remainder beneficiary," which will get the money after all other trusts have been paid and claims settled.

Turner's suit has raised some eyebrows in legal circles. She claims she was "effectively [Prebys's] widow." They lived together more than 16 years but were not married. In any case, common-law marriage is not recognized in California. Conrad Prebys had been married three times before he took up with Turner. "She may have been trying to bolster her standing, her image," says an attorney who prefers not to be quoted. "'Effective widow' is not a legally meaningful statement."

I could not reach Turner.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Songwriter Sanctuary, B-Side Players, The Crawdaddys, Saint Luna, Brawley

Reunited, in the round, and onstage in Normal Heights, East Village, Little Italy, Encinitas
Next Article

Gonzo Report: Jazz jam at a private party

A couple of accidental crashes at California English
Turner and Prebys at son Eric's 2013 wedding. Turner will inherit $40 million, plus his Point Loma home  and its contents.
Turner and Prebys at son Eric's 2013 wedding. Turner will inherit $40 million, plus his Point Loma home and its contents.

Laurie Anne Victoria, the late Conrad Prebys's long-time second-in-command and chief financial officer who is now chief executive of the firm that made him a billionaire, has hired two top Los Angeles attorneys to battle the lawsuit that Prebys's "life partner," Debra Turner, filed in Superior Court May 15 against Victoria and three other persons on the board of the Prebys Foundation.

Scott A. Edelman and Alex Mircheff, partners of Los Angeles-based firm Gibson Dunn, are representing Victoria, who was head of the trust that actually set up the foundation. They haven't decided yet whether to countersue, try to get the suit thrown out of court, or use some other strategy to defeat it.

At last year's services for Prebys, who gave more than $300 million to San Diego nonprofits, Turner and Victoria were very close, planning and dominating the operation, according to Conrad Prebys's only son, Eric Prebys, a PhD and noted physicist. It was after those services that Eric Prebys learned that he had been completely cut out of his father's will, having been disinherited in several downward moves of the amount he was to get, beginning at $20 million. Conrad Prebys had left his family after a divorce, when Eric Prebys was only two years old. When he was 16, Eric Prebys found his father -- then wealthy and no longer plagued by an alcohol problem -- and, he says, they had a good relationship for more than 35 years. Conrad Prebys would visit Eric and his family every year.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Eric believes that Debra Turner applied "undue pressure" to get Conrad to disinherit him.

According to knowledgeable sources, Debra Turner will inherit $40 million from the late Conrad Prebys, plus his Point Loma home, worth an estimated $5 million, and its contents.

Eric Prebys hired attorneys to challenge the disinheritance. San Diego attorney James Lauth, who had been Conrad Prebys's estate planning attorney, feared that Eric had such a good case that he could get a huge chunk of his father's estate, thus severely weakening the foundation. (Lauth has not returned calls for comment.) In a settlement, the son got $9 million plus $6 million that would ultimately be paid to the Internal Revenue Service.

Debra Turner, president of the foundation, hit the roof over the settlement, claiming that Eric Prebys should get nothing. She demanded that the other foundation board members — Victoria, Joseph Gronotte, Gregory Rogers and Anthony Cortes — reverse the vote that permitted the settlement. When they refused, she filed a lawsuit May 15 in Superior Court, charging the defendants with breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, and other sins. The foundation will be irrevocably devoted to charitable purposes, and there is no argument over that. Turner charges that Victoria made unauthorized gifts from trusts — a breach of duty to the foundation.

The $15 million payment "was a reasonable settlement," says Edelman. For the foundation, "It was a dangerous claim brought by the sole heir of Conrad Prebys. The settlement was an effort to preserve the the ability of the foundation to be a charitable force in San Diego for years to come." The foundation has not yet been funded, but will certainly get a bundle of money. The foundation is the "remainder beneficiary," which will get the money after all other trusts have been paid and claims settled.

Turner's suit has raised some eyebrows in legal circles. She claims she was "effectively [Prebys's] widow." They lived together more than 16 years but were not married. In any case, common-law marriage is not recognized in California. Conrad Prebys had been married three times before he took up with Turner. "She may have been trying to bolster her standing, her image," says an attorney who prefers not to be quoted. "'Effective widow' is not a legally meaningful statement."

I could not reach Turner.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader readers sound off about Encinitas cliffs

Not much sympathy for victims
Next Article

Issa aide collaborates with Ukrainians

Carlsbad's Tracy Slepcevic, Warrior Mom, and her ties to RFK, Jr.
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader