The widow of a slain Dunwoody businessman filed new motions in DeKalb and Fulton County probate courts recently in an attempt to dismiss the wrongful death suit filed by her deceased husband's brother.
Rusty Sneiderman was gunned down in front of a Dunwoody daycare facility in November 2010. Hemy Neuman, the boss of Sneiderman's wife Andrea, was convicted of murder in March 2012.
On June 22, Andrea Sneiderman asked the DeKalb Probate Court to remove Steven Sneiderman, Rusty Sneiderman's brother, as the executor of his estate. On the same day, she petitioned in Fulton County for conservatorship of her two young children, giving her control of their legal matters.
Her attorneys said these procedures could determine if Steven Sneiderman has grounds to bring a wrongful death case against her, according to a motion filed June 29 in Fulton County Superior Court.
According to the motion, Steven Sneiderman claims he can file the wrongful death suit because he controls his deceased brother's estate and is "next friend" to the children. Andrea Sneiderman's filings in probate court to remove Sneiderman from those positions would give him no legal standing to bring the case, her attorneys said in the motion.
"It's a procedural battle to force them out of the estate and out of the wrongful death suit," said Patrick Gibbs, a Roswell attorney who has practiced trust and estate law for the past 20 years.
Andrea Sneiderman's attorneys, Louis Levenson and Doug Chalmers, declined comment, as did Steven Sneiderman's attorney William Ballard.
The filings are the latest rounds in the legal battle between Andrea Sneiderman and the family of her deceased husband.
In May, Steven Sneiderman filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the widow after prosecutors and defense attorneys said she was involved in her husband's death during Neuman's murder trial.
On June 18, Andrea Sneiderman countered by suing Steven Sneiderman for defamation. She also filed a wrongful death suit against Neuman.
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