The widow of the late Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has filed a $16.5million lawsuit accusing his brothers of mismanaging her husband’s estate and the family business.
Renata Ford’s civil complaint names Doug Ford, who is currently running for office in Ontario as the Progressive Conservative candidate, his brother Randy and their company, Deco Labels.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Ontario Superior court on Friday on behalf of Renata and her two children, a son and daughter, claims that Doug Ford has deprived his late brother’s family of millions of dollars in his capacity as a trustee of Rob’s estate.
Family feud: Rob Ford’s widow Renata has filed a lawsuit on her own behalf and on behalf of her children (left), accusing her brother-in-law Doug Ford (right) of mismanaging her late husband’s estate and the family business
Deceased: Renata’s husband, former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, passed away in 2016 after an 18-month battle with a rare form of cancer
The complaint also accuses both Doug and Randy Ford of poorly running the family business, and by doing so decreasing the value of his niece and nephew’s shares in Deco Labels, which was founded by their late grandfather in the 1960s.
According to the lawsuit, Doug has prevented Renata and her children from collecting on Rob’s $200,000 life insurance policy that he and Randy ford ‘improperly retained and withheld.’
Doug Ford denied any wrongdoing, saying in a statement to the Toronto Star that the claims against him and Deco Labels are ‘false’ and accusing his sister-in-law and her lawyers of trying to shake him down for money.
Renata Ford’s mother-in-law, Diane, also released a statement to the paper defending her family against what she called ‘false and baseless allegations.’
‘As a family, our one goal is to ensure Rob’s children are cared for and their financial futures are secure,’ she said. ‘Renata has serious struggles with addiction, and our hope is that she will accept help for the sake of herself and my grandchildren.’
Denials: Both Doug Ford (left) and his mother, Diane (right), denied any wrongdoing and labeled Renata’s allegations as false
Renata Ford was arrested in December 2016 on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Rob Ford passed away in 2016, aged 46, after an 18-month battle with cancer.
He was elected mayor of Toronto in 2010 but gained international notoriety in 2013 after a shocking video emerged purporting to show him smoking crack cocaine with suspected criminals.
Following weeks of intensifying media scrutiny Ford eventually admitted smoking illegal drugs while in office, buying the drugs and driving while drunk, but refused to resign his position.
In early 2014 Ford was believed to have checked into a treatment clinic to deal with his alcohol and drug problems, before re-emerging and announcing his intention to run for re-election as mayor.
Rob and Renata had been married for 16 years. Pictured: the couple are sharing a kiss in 2014
Bereaved: Renata and her children are pictured at her husband’s funeral in March 2016
Shortly afterwards he was diagnosed with pleomorphic liposarcoma, a rare and hard-to-treat cancer found in soft, fatty tissue of the body, after he was admitted to a hospital with abdominal pain.
That diagnosis led to Ford calling off his bid for the mayor’s seat, though he did run again for his old council seat in an election, which he won.
After 27 days of radiation and five rounds of chemotherapy treatment Ford had the tumor removed in September 2015.
However, just a month later doctors discovered another two tumors on his bladder, leading to another five rounds of chemotherapy, which intimately proved unsuccessful.
The lawsuit alleges that after Rob’s passing, Doug approached his sister-in-law offering to settle his estate without the involvement of attorneys and suggesting that she sell her shares in Deco Labels. She refused to do either.
The complaint goes on to claim that after taking over the company, Doug and Randy proceeded to ‘negligently and improperly’ mismanage the family business, all the while drawing ‘extravagant’ salaries, bonuses, travel allowances and other benefits.
Between 2010-2017, while Doug and Randy stood at the helm of the company, Deco Labels lost $5million of its values, the lawsuit claims. Prior to that, the company had been profitable.