SAN ANTONIO - The divorcee who was fined ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars' in the guardianship of an 83-year old millionaire has filed a lawsuit against the Bexar County Probate Judge who sanctioned her.
Laura Martinez sued the Honorable Oscar Kazen in his official capacity in the 150th Judicial District on April 16, alleging he grossly neglected to use reasonable diligence in the performance of his mandatory duty under Texas Estates Code Subchapter A in the guardianship of Charles Thrash, according to a press release.
“Laura requests the court, upon final hearing on the merits, to grant her request that Charlie's estate be reimbursed for actual damages, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees awarded, wrongfully incurred and paid to the guardian's attorneys between April 17, 2019, to the present date, which may be payable on Judge Kazen’s judge’s bond,” wrote Martinez’s attorney Phil Ross in the complaint.
As previously reported, Judge Kazen hoisted $262,391.77 in sanctions upon Martinez and her attorney, Phil Ross, in proceedings involving the guardianship of Thrash who was allegedly mentally incapacitated at the time of his wedding to Martinez in which the marriage certificate was signed by Ross.
“Laura complains that the Honorable Oscar J. Kazan in his official capacity, a statutory probate judge, has waived his official immunity pursuant to the Texas Estates Code Subchapter A Section 120.001-3 by grossly neglecting to use reasonable diligence to determine whether the guardians of Charlie's person and estate were performing all of the duties required of the guardians that relate to Charlie as the guardian’s ward,” Ross stated in the brief on behalf of Martinez.
Initially, Martinez had been named Thrash’s guardian but was eventually replaced by Mary Werner and Tonya M. Barina.
The Southeast Texas Record was the first to report last month that Barina sued Martinez, Ross, and Netflix on March 11 after a Dirty Money episode aired in which Barina was allegedly falsely and maliciously defamed.
Martinez’s lawsuit against Judge Kazen further alleges that he neglected to use reasonable diligence to determine whether Barina or Werner were performing all the duties required of the guardians that relate to Thrash, who once owned an auto repair shop in San Antonio and an estate valued at more than $3 million.
“Laura alleges and would prove that Judge Kazan aided and abetted Charlie's guardians to violate his protected rights under the Texas Estates Code Section 1151.351 'Bill of Rights for Wards,'" Ross stated in Martinez's pleading.
It was reported on March 19 that the Commission for Lawyer Discipline sued Ross alleging he was deceitful and dishonest in the guardianship of an elderly military wife, Sybil Sims, and her daughter. Sims was the widow of USAF Lt. Col. Harold "Hal" Sims Sr.