AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Attorney General’s Office says the estate of Robert Indiana has paid seven law firms excessive legal fees and wants the estate to recoup $3.7 million of them, according to a court filing on Monday.
The estate’s personal representative, James Brannan, is disputing that he must ask the law firms to return the funds, the Portland Press Herald reported.
His attorney responded to the filing on Wednesday saying the attorney general’s office is responsible for giving the firms notice that they need to return the funds, the newspaper reported.
The attorney general’s office declined to say more about why they believe Brannan is responsible for the overpayments, the newspaper reported.
Indiana is the creator of the “LOVE” series and spent the last decades of his life on Vinalhaven Island, 15 miles (25 kilometers) off Rockland, Maine. He died almost three years ago, though intertwined lawsuits have delayed the creation of a museum at his home funded by his estate.
The law firms, which are based in Maine and New York, were paid $8.4 million by Brannan, an investigation by the attorney general’s office found.
The office has said they are still reviewing the personal representative fees that Brannan has charged the estate, which the newspaper reported amounted to at least $1 million.
