Judge Affirms Widow’s Control of L.A. Sentinel

Ending a long-running and bitter probate battle, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Friday that control of the Los Angeles Sentinel, once the second-largest black newspaper in America, was rightly willed to the widow of its founder, Leon Washington.

Judge Ronald E. Swearinger’s decision brings to a conclusion a 13-year fight over the future of the struggling weekly between Ruth Washington, now in her 70s, and the sister of her late husband and his illegitimate son.

The two challengers, who had received $20,000 from the sale of 20% of the newspaper’s stock left to them after Washington’s death in 1974, had sought to remove the widow as administrator of the estate. Arguing that the sale of their stock was mishandled, they also asked that the newspaper be sold so that their shares might command a higher price.

Washington’s sister, Juanita Goodman, and the son, Lynn Washington, also argued that a new owner would invigorate the once-powerful newspaper.

“I’m not surprised,” Lynn Washington said Friday. Vowing to appeal, he said the ruling is “clearly not fair. . . . We’ve got 13 years at stake at this point. There’s no question we will go on.”

Lynn Washington’s attorney, meanwhile, said it was unclear what the next step might be.

“This whole thing is unbelievable,” Douglas Miller said. “We’ll have to sit down and make some decisions. . . . I think (Judge Swearinger) really just abandoned his responsibilities in the case . . . to get rid of it.”

Ruth Washington has not spoken publicly about the case. Her attorney, Leo Branton, could not be reached Friday.

With the ruling, the Sentinel, which had slipped from a peak circulation of 56,000 in the 1960s to about 25,000 today, will remain under the stewardship of Kenneth Thomas, an attorney of Ruth Washington. Thomas took control of the paper in 1983 after agreeing to pay off its mounting debts to keep the paper afloat.

Ruth Washington was given a lifetime contract as publisher and some real estate income as part of the deal with Thomas.

Although Leon Washington’s sister and son challenged the turnover to Thomas, Swearinger in effect ruled that Ruth Washington could do what she wished with her property. In the will, Leon Washington had bequeathed 80% of the newspaper stock to Ruth, his wife of 40 years.

Swearinger wrote in his 13-page decision: “Ownership of the property confers a right to deal with that property as one might see fit.

“It does appear to the court that Mrs. Washington . . . found the newspaper to be in very bad financial condition, borrowed a lot of money to keep it afloat, hocked her real estate and interest in the newspaper to secure the borrowing, and ultimately elected to sell her interest in the newspaper corporation to get the burden of debt off her back.”

He characterized claims by the two challengers that the $20,000 they received for their minority interest was insufficient as “patently absurd.” He called the often venomous probate struggle “a cat-and-dog fight all the way” and concluded that “it is now time to close the estate.”

“There is simple reality that must be faced here,” Swearinger said.

Referring to the challengers’ complaint that $20,000 was not enough for their stock, Swearinger said that selling a small stake in a private corporation “for anything other than ‘peanuts’ is fiscal eccentricity and is seldom done by prudent people.”