Paul Newman’s Children Accuse Newman’s Own Foundation of Violating Actor’s Wishes in New Lawsuit

Paul Newman’s daughters have filed a lawsuit against the Newman’s Own Foundation, the charity organization founded in 1982. Susan Kendall Newman of Oregon, and Nell Newman of California say the foundation is refusing to meet its contractual obligations to them as a pretext to cutting ties with them entirely.

The Newman’s Own Foundation raises money for charity through the sales of various foods bearing Newman’s face. According to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Stamford, Connecticut, Newman secured several conditions when he licensed his image, among them that Newman’s Own would contribute $400,000 dollars per year — a total of $800,000 — to charitable foundations run by each of his daughters.

However, the lawsuit says that shortly after Newman’s death in 2008, the foundation informed them it could at any time cease its contributions to their own charitable organizations, and that this contradicts Newman’s explicit wishes.

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In a statement responding to the lawsuit, Newman’s Own said, “Best practices surrounding philanthropic organizations do not allow for the establishment of perpetual funding allotments for anyone, including Nell and Susan Newman. A meritless lawsuit based on this faulty wish would only divert money away from those who benefit from Paul Newman’s generosity.”

“While we expect to continue to solicit Newman family recommendations for worthy organizations, our funding decisions are made each year and will continue to reflect the clear aim of Paul Newman and our responsibility to the best practices governing private foundations.”

The suit, obtained by TheWrap, alleges that Newman’s Own improperly cut its contributions in half, to $200,000 per foundation.

The two women are seeking a judgment forcing Newman’s Own to donate $1.4 million to their foundations.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.