CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SANTA ANA : Judge to Resign, Supervise Trust

Presiding Justice Harmon G. Scoville of the Santa Ana division of the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal announced his retirement to accept the job of special master of the Buck Trust in Marin County. Scoville, 67, was appointed to the special master position by former Santa Clara County Judge Homer B. Thompson, who was placed in charge of the trust by the California Supreme Court more than a year ago. The trust, worth more than $250 million, was left by the late Beryl Buck for the care of the needy and other charities in Marin County. When the San Francisco Foundation, which controlled the trust, tried to modify the terms to allow distribution of its funds to other counties, Marin County officials challenged it in court. Thompson presided over the trial in 1986 and ruled that the trust’s funds must remain in Marin County.