At the pretrial conference on Nov. 13, 2020, Israel, represented by attorney Theodore Frank, told District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona that Israel and Waibel have reached a settlement as to all of their cross-claims against each other, and are working on a stipulation for dismissal.
This was confirmed by Waibel, who represents himself.
Waibel, Israel and David Lujan are defendants in the lawsuit filed by Junior Larry Hillbroom, one of the four DNA-proven heirs of DHL Corp. founder Larry Lee Hillblom who died in a plane crash in 1995 near Saipan, leaving behind him an estate estimated to be around $600 million.
Israel and Lujan represented Hillbroom when he was a minor in securing $90 million from the Hillblom estate.
When he became an adult, Hillbroom sued his former lawyers for malpractice, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and violations of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Hillbroom also sued his trustee, Waibel, for conspiracy.
Hillbroom alleged that the defendants committed extrinsic fraud on the Guam guardianship court by denying him a fair opportunity to challenge their 56% retainer.
Lujan, for his part, has told the court that his third-party claims against Waibel are stayed pending the resolution of a settlement discussion with the plaintiff.
Lujan, in his third-party claims against Waibel and other unnamed co-conspirators, sued for indemnification, alleging that it was Waibel who was responsible for Hillbroom filing the lawsuit against Lujan.
As for Israel, he sued Waibel for slander and libel, claiming that Waibel made defamatory statements intentionally and with malice.
Judge Manglona has vacated the jury trial date as to the cross-claims of Israel and Waibel against each other and scheduled a status conference for Dec. 1, 2020.
She also directed Israel and Waibel to file their stipulation by Nov. 30, 2020.
In July 2020, Hillbroom, who is represented by attorney Rachel Dimitruk, agreed to dismiss Israel from the lawsuit after a settlement agreement was reached. A stipulation of dismissal from the parties has been filed in court.
