The Rashidi Wheeler Case and Fiduciary Duty

College football fans are probably familiar with Rashidi Wheeler, the Northwestern University football player who died during a preseason practice in 2001.  Mr. Wheeler's mother, Linda Will, was appointed as a co-administrator of his estate, and later filed a wrongful-death case against the University.

This morning's Chicago Tribune has an update on the case, with the headline "Judge orders mom to take $16 million in Wheeler case."  My first thought was, can a judge force someone to accept a settlement offer?  The answer is yes, because of Mrs. Will's fiduciary duty to the other beneficiaries of her son's estate.

Because Mr. Wheeler died intestate, his probate estate -- which would include any settlement in a wrongful-death case -- passes to his parents, his brother, and his three half-brothers.  Because Mr. Wheeler's three half-brothers are minors, a guardian was appointed to act on their behalf in the proceedings.  That guardian found that Mrs. Will -- by rejecting a $16 million settlement offer and planning to go to trial against Northwestern -- was not acting in the best interest of the three minor beneficiaries.  Circuit Court Judge Kathy Flanagan agreed.

Note that, if all beneficiaries of Mr. Wheeler's estate were adults and consented to Mrs. Will's actions, the court wouldn't have required the estate to settle the case.