Family of Paul Newman Files Suit Against His Charity

Paul Newman is the latest deceased celebrity whose surviving family members are battling over his estate.

Newman’s daughters insist Newman’s Own shorted them the full $400,000 owed to each daughter’s own charity, Associated Press reports.

Susan Kendall Newman and Nell Newman claim their father stipulated that Newman’s Own Foundation provide $400,000 to each daughter’s own charity. 

More specifically, Susan Kendall Newman and Nell Newman identified a clause in the mandate that allegedly supports their claim. It allegedly says Paul Newman’s foundation can’t use his likeness unless each of his daughter’s foundations receives $400,000 annually.

However the foundation only paid half that amount in recent years, the daughters allege.

Paul Newman’s Daughters Go To War With His Foundation

Their lawsuit, filed Tuesday in state court in Connecticut, reportedly seeks $1.6 million in damages. The daughters said they would donate the money to their foundations to help their charitable efforts.

An attorney for the daughters told AP that the pain of the conflict goes past a mere financial concern.

“No one should have to feel that the legacy of a departed loved one is being dishonored in [this] way,” the lawyer said.

Meanwhile, Newman’s Own Foundation issued a statement of its own, AP reported.

“Best practices surrounding philanthropic organizations do not allow for the establishment of perpetual funding allotments for anyone,” the statement read. “A meritless lawsuit based on this faulty wish would only divert money away from those who benefit from [Newman]’s generosity.”

Universally beloved actor and philanthropist Paul Newman founded the Newman’s Own Foundation in 2005. Subsequently, he died three years later.

The general public arguably knows him as well for Newman’s Own products as the movies in which he starred. All profits from sales of the goods — which include sauce, salsa, olive oil, and pizza — go to charity.

Paul Newman appeared in the six-part docuseries The Last Movie Stars, which aired on HBO Max last month.