HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Attorney David Lujan is seeking the dismissal of a decade-old civil lawsuit filed against him by one of the heirs of a co-founder of international courier DHL.
Lujan said his former client faces a lengthy prison sentence and is a fugitive from Palau. Lujan once represented Junior Larry Hillbroom, son of the late business tycoon Larry Hillblom, who was the “H” in DHL. Hillblom died in a plane crash near Saipan in 1995, triggering a global legal battle for his estate.
In 2010, Hillbroom sued members of what once was his legal team in the battle for his share of the Hillblom estate. The case and a related case stem from a legal fight over the management of $100 million in assets awarded to Hillbroom in the settlement of the Hillblom estate. In two complaints, Hillbroom, who was a minor when he inherited a portion of the Hillblom wealth, alleges that in 2001, his lawyers, including Lujan, and the trustee of the Hillbroom trust, conspired to increase their contingency fee from 38% to 65%, according to a July 2015 federal court decision denying the dismissal of the case.
Lujan said Hillbroom failed to prosecute the action properly and diligently, court documents state. The attorney claims it isn’t likely that Hillbroom will be back in Saipan for the civil trial that is scheduled for December.
According to Lujan’s motion to dismiss, Hillbroom is wanted in Palau, where he was convicted in 2018 for conspiring to traffic methamphetamine. Hillbroom became a fugitive when he refused to enter a drug treatment center in California as ordered by the Palau court. He faces the possibility of a 30-year sentence if he returns.
In July 2020, Hillbroom was arrested in Idaho and charged with conspiracy to distribute meth. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum term of 10 years to life in prison. He remains in custody on federal charges. The trial is scheduled for May 17 in Idaho.
Two of his co-defendants have pleaded guilty in the case, including Hillbroom’s half-brother, Morgan Kenney.
Lujan said Hillbroom also attempted to mislead Idaho judges when he sought pretrial release from incarceration. In January, Hillbroom sent a handwritten letter to the judge implying his family is financially struggling and his wife is unemployed and unable to pay the mortgage.
Lujan said Hillbroom intentionally failed to inform the court of a large settlement he had entered into that provided him and his family with a large sum of money. Additionally, the attorney said Hillbroom failed to inform the judge that he is a fugitive from Palau because he failed to go to a drug rehab facility in California.
The “extreme delay and prospect of continued delay with no end in sight,” continues to prejudice Lujan, who has had to prepare for trial on multiple occasions and must also anticipate when the plaintiff will appear for the case, causing “considerable burdens and huge legal fees and resources,” Lujan said.
He added that he has a legitimate interest in bringing the matter to closure within a reasonable time.
“It appears highly unlikely that the plaintiff will be available any time within the foreseeable future and will not be able to be present or to participate in the trial in any meaningful sense,” Lujan wrote in the motion. He also intends to call Hillbroom as a witness.
David Lujan
Junior Larry Hillbroom
