The children of Robbie Robertson, the guitarist of The Band who died last year, are suing the woman he married shortly before his death, alleging that she took advantage of the musician's deteriorating health to make him sign documents that would benefit her in case of his death. death.
Robertson's three adult children, Alexandra, Delphine and Sebastian Robertson, filed the lawsuit Wednesday night in Los Angeles Superior Court against Janet Zuccarini, a well-known Toronto restaurateur who recently opened Stella West Hollywood. Robertson died in August, just months after marrying Zuccarini.
The lawsuit's main claim arises from Zuccarini and Robertson's joint purchase of David Geffen's Beverly Hills home on Gilcrest Drive in 2021 for $6 million. The couple each owned 50% of the home, but Robertson paid the entire $1.8 million down payment, according to the lawsuit.
While Robertson's intention upon his death was for his children to become 50% owners of the house with the ability to sell it to Zuccarini, buy out Zuccarini's interest, or jointly sell the property with Zuccarini, that is not what happened , according to the demand.
After Robertson's death, Zuccarini informed the family that “she had the right to reside on the Property until her death, and that [Robertson’s heirs] “They had to pay, from what would have been their modest inheritance, the mortgage, property taxes, insurance and half of the daily expenses of maintaining the property throughout their lives,” the lawsuit reads.
Their claim arose from an amendment the couple had made to their 2021 “tenant in common” agreement, when they moved into the house.
The couple signed the amendment in March 2023, months before Robertson died in August, and agreed that if one of them died, his estate would be responsible for continuing to pay half of the mortgage, according to a copy of the agreement.
Robertson's heirs argued in the lawsuit that after cancer surgery in 2022, Robertson never fully recovered. He began using powerful opioids, THC and antipsychotics to control his pain and stimulate his appetite, according to the lawsuit.
“Robertson's mental state was severely impaired,” the lawsuit says. “These drugs that he was taking, in the period when Zuccarini was organizing the secret wedding and making him sign oppressive documents, are known to have significant effects on cognition, including confusion, hallucinations, lethargy, depression, memory loss and dissociation. “
The estate claims in the lawsuit that Zuccarini committed elder abuse by having Robertson sign documents when she should have known he was not mentally capable of understanding what he was signing.
The lawsuit asks for the cancellation of the agreement that divided ownership of the house between Zuccarini and Robertson.
Zuccarini, through his publicist, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Robertson's children had no immediate comment through his attorney.
