Mayor in court over family dispute Mayor in court over family dispute (November 26, 2004)

Relatives argue misuse of trust fund

By Jon Wiener

A long-running family dispute between Mayor Matt Pear and his relatives went to trial this week after court-ordered settlement talks failed to help them reach an agreement.

Pear's aunt and cousin say he owes them tens of thousands of dollars, accusing him of skimming from a family trust and trying to strong-arm them into selling their interest in the trust property to him at a discounted price. They are also trying to force him to sell the Ortega Avenue home that he has lived in free of charge for 23 years.

Bernadine Pear and her daughter, Cynthia Brenneke, offered to sell their stake in the trust for $4 million in 1998, but were offered less than half of that by Matt Pear and other beneficiaries of the trust.

Matt Pear took the stand Tuesday, and the plaintiff's attorneys questioned him about his assertion that the properties in the trust would cost $8 million in future expenses. The trial will continue Tuesday in Superior Court in San Jose.

Judge Catherine Gallagher is expected to rule in the next few weeks whether or not the Ortega Avenue property needs to be sold. She will also decide whether Matt Pear and his father, who was removed as trustee in 2002, should pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars they spent on legal fees to fight the family claims.

Central to the dispute is a plot of land that has been in the Pear family for 96 years. Purchased in 1908 by Martin Pear, Matt Pear's grandfather, it eventually became part of several family trusts controlled only by his male descendants.

Today, the 20-acre site on Showers Drive is home to Target and Wheelworks and includes the Ortega Avenue house the mayor lives in. The trusts also include properties on Middlefield Road and in Turlock and together are valued at more than $16 million.

The case has pitted the two sides of the Pear family against each other. The courts removed Martin's son John as trustee in 2002, and he was succeeded by his two sons Matt and Mark. Martin's other son, Joseph, died in 1997.

His widow, Bernadine Pear, testified last Friday that she was dependent on income from the trust, which she said was cut from $325,000 in 1998 to a low of $67,425 the following year. She and Brenneke have accused the trustees of withholding nearly $1 million in income, ostensibly to help create a reserve fund for potential seismic upgrades and environmental remediation.

Their attorney, Daniel Casas, called the funds a "specious" in his trial brief, and argued that the male Pears' main purpose was to lower Bernadine's income to the point where she was forced to sell her stake.

Casas has asked a judge to order Matt Pear to pay back the $36,420 in consulting fees he charged the trust.

Matt Pear's lawyer, Michael Desmarais, countered that the funds and fees charged were all reasonable, and that his uncle never intended for him to pay rent.

The properties have been held in a number of different trusts, which include many confusing and apparently contradictory provisions. According to one such provision, once Martin and Milica's children and their spouses have passed away, Brenneke will be forced to sell her share to her cousins at its 1997 value.

A court-appointed referee concluded in 2001 that, "this case exhibits a family history of discrimination against females." He sided with the plaintiffs in recommending that John Pear be removed as trustee and ordered to return $200,000. His other recommendations, including installing Brenneke as a trustee instead of Matt Pear, were not immediately accepted by the court.

Matt Pear was first elected to the city council in 2000 and was selected as mayor in January. He easily won re-election, receiving the most votes of the six candidates. He owns a development consulting company with his brother.

Pear refused to comment on the case.
@email:E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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