NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Less than a week after a judge ruled that Tom Benson is competent to run the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans — his daughter and her children, Renee Benson, Rita LeBlanc, and Ryan LeBlanc, have filed an appeal saying Tom’s ‘foggy state’ described by the court is worse and will only continue to worsen.
In a press release LeBlanc’s lawyer, Randall Smith, pointed to the fact that Tom did not take the witness stand as further evidence of his diminishing capacity.
The release goes on to say, “Renee, Rita, and Ryan love their father and grandfather and hope the courts will eventually appoint a curator and undercurator to grant Tom Benson the protection he needs.”
In the ruling last Thursday (June 18), judge Kern Reese quoted two psychiatrists’ opinion that “Tom Benson has sustained a mild cognitive impairment that has impacted his short-term memory, but does not rob him of his volition and ability to make reasoned decisions.”
Read the full statement from Randal Smith below:
Today, our clients, Renee Benson, Rita LeBlanc, and Ryan LeBlanc, have filed an appeal of the June 18, 2015 Judgment denying any relief on their Petition for Interdiction. Renee, Rita, and Ryan, having heard with their own ears and seen with their own eyes Tom Benson’s mental decline, as well as the compelling evidence presented at trial from every single witness, believe that Tom Benson remains in the ‘foggy state’ described by the Court, and that the cognitive impairment acknowledged by the Court is worse and will only continue to worsen. Indeed, without the essential building block of memory that the Court references, decisions are susceptible to being made without factual basis or upon false information.
Although we have the utmost respect for the Court, the refusal of Tom Benson’s counsel to allow Tom Benson to take the witness stand further evidences Tom Benson’s diminished capacity and serves to suppress the truth. Our clients are therefore appealing in particular the denial of multiple requests to question Tom Benson before and during trial, or to apply an adverse presumption for his refusal, the failure of which was compounded by the admission of many alleged statements attributed to Tom Benson by his direct employee, his wife, and their lawyer. We are further appealing the reliance by the Court upon only select portions of the testimony, including certain opinions of physicians who employed insufficient methodology and applied improper standards.
Renee, Rita, and Ryan love their father and grandfather and hope the courts will eventually appoint a curator and undercurator to grant Tom Benson the protection he needs. Although understanding that as long as the record is sealed their actions may not make sense to some, they feel compelled to bring the strong evidence presented at trial of a significant and ongoing infirmity to the appellate court for review. In years past, Tom Benson observed contemporaries in similar states of mental decline and urged his family to act for him if he ever found himself in such a vulnerable state. We reiterate that this case is driven by Renee, Rita and Ryan’s love and concern for Tom Benson, the Benson businesses, the Saints, the Pelicans, the State of Louisiana, and the people of the City of New Orleans.