Court order ends legal battle within King family

By Steve Visser

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The children of Martin Luther King Jr. have finally settled their very public private spat.

Dexter King, the president of King Inc., and his siblings Martin Luther King III and Bernice King have agreed that a court-appointed custodian should revamp the family corporation that controls the copyright and intellectual property of the civil rights leader, according to an order Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville issued Tuesday.

Glanville's order likely means that Dexter King will no longer control King Inc.

It also reopens the possibility that a biopic on Martin Luther King Jr. could get back on track after being derailed by opposition from Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, who were not consulted on the deal with Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks despite being directors of the tightly held family corporation.

Bernice King and Martin Luther King III sued their brother in 2008 over his stewardship of the corporation, contending that he was mismanaging their father's legacy and profiting improperly.

They also complained that the corporate bylaws effectively stopped them as shareholders in the corporation from removing Dexter King from power because he refused to call a meeting that would allow them to put his stewardship to a vote.

Glanville's new order, based on the analysis of court-appointed custodian Terry Giles, directed Giles to revise corporate governance documents "in accordance with best practices ... including but not limited to job descriptions, policies and procedure manuals."

The judge also ruled that Giles may negotiate a new employment agreement with Dexter King that documents the terms and conditions of his continued employment by King Inc., including payment of any money still owed to him by the corporation or any that he owes to the corporation. Giles can also negotiate the terms of his termination of such employment and a buyout of his shares.

The order also says Giles can negotiate any contracts or agreement that he believes are in the best interest of the corporation, including the movie deal that Dexter King had previously negotiated with Dreamworks about the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Glanville ordered that the restructuring -- during which he is to consult with the King siblings -- be completed by May 28. The King siblings will still be able to challenge Giles' recommendations to the court.

Giles is to receive a flat fee of $200,000 from the corporation as well as expenses.

Early in the lawsuit, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III also accused Dexter King of taking money out of the estate of Coretta Scott King, but Glanville's ruling in December -- when the siblings, on the cusp of a public trial, first agreed to a temporary custodian to assess the company -- vindicated him.

"Dexter was an authorized signatory on that account and the funds that he removed were immediately distributed in three equal shares to the three shareholders of the Corporation, " Glanville wrote. "There was no improper conduct with respect to the removal of funds. ... Dexter did not misappropriate, convert, or steal any monies from Mrs. King's estate."

Attempts to reach the Kings and their lawyers for comment were unsuccessful.