MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 30 – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network — Stung by questions about his activities in connection with a trust established for his daughter, Jeno
Paulucci has lashed out with a lawsuit against her that accuses her of being
incapacitated. Jeno Paulucci, the 87-year-old entrepreneur and
multimillionaire filed a lawsuit in Seminole County Court, Florida which Gina
Paulucci described as “vindictive and retaliatory.”
The 44-year-old Wayzata, Minnesota resident said she had raised routine questions regarding the handling of her trust fund. She questioned his insistence that she cooperate in the sale of property owned partially by her trust and partially outright by
her. Rather than address her legitimate concerns, her father responded by
accusing her of being under the “mind control” of her longtime partner Chuck
Yeschke, 68, also of Wayzata.
In a complaint served by her father, Jeno Paulucci, seeks damages of
$15,000 against Gina for breaching her duties under the Trust and Mr. Yeschke
for tortuous interference in the relationship between Gina and her father. The
suit also seeks the appointment of a guardian for his daughter. She is,
alleged in the lawsuit, to have the intent to violate the terms of an
irrevocable trust.
Speaking through one of her attorneys, Nancy Zalusky Berg, Gina Paulucci
said she still loves her father and is concerned by this bizarre behavior.
Her father’s lawsuit came as a total shock and has saddened her deeply. She
was even more surprised that he would have alerted the Florida media about
such an embarrassing family dispute. She claims her 87-year-old father’s
legal action against her is retribution for questions she raised when she was
asked to sell her 20 percent interest in another Paulucci company, ETOR.
ETOR, based in Duluth, consists of the assets remaining after her father’s
sale of Jeno’s Pizza to the Pillsbury Company in 1985. Ms. Paulucci
contends that when she questioned the value of her interest and asked for a
due diligence inspection of ETOR assets, her father became angry and
accusatory. She believes her father’s lawsuit regarding her trust is designed
to punish her because she raised questions about the transaction he wanted her
to execute.
