Pear buys out relatives for $3.5 million Pear buys out relatives for $3.5 million (January 14, 2005)

Former mayor ready to get on with life

By Jon Wiener

City Council member Matt Pear and his brother agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle a long-running dispute over a family trust.

Matt and Mark Pear bought out the stakes held by their relatives in several family properties, including Matt Pear's Ortega Avenue home and the adjacent lot that is home to both Target and WheelWorks.

The deal also calls for them to reimburse Bernadine Pear, their aunt, and her daughter Cynthia Brenneke for more than $500,000 in fees they charged the trust for management and litigation.

Pear said he was happy to be done with the lawsuit and get on with his life.

"Litigating takes too much out of your life," he said. "It's not productive; that's the bottom line."

He also expressed dismay about the media attention the case received.

"To be made public in the fashion that it was, I think, is not appropriate," he said.

The argument had been in the courts since the Pear women sued in October 2000, but only made it into the headlines this November, when an anonymous caller tipped off two newspapers the day before Matt Pear was scheduled to take the stand.

When the press got wind of the lawsuit, rumors and accusations emerged. Pear issued a press release exonerating himself after the judge indicated she would side with him, and friends of the family questioned the legitimacy of Bernadine's marriage to her husband Joseph Pear.

Dan Casas, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said the buyout settlement was a win for his clients.

"The only thing they gave up was ownership in the properties," he said.

Matt Pear's attorney, Mike Desmarais, had a different view of the agreement, which includes clauses stating that Matt and his brother did not try to force out Bernadine and Cynthia, and that it was "a reasonable business decision" for him to continue to live rent-free on the Ortega Avenue property.

"The bottom line is, the guy was completely vindicated," said Desmarais.

E-mail Jon Wiener at jwiener@mv-voice.com

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