Flickinger

In 1996, Chandler Flickinger became the executor of the estate of Roger Preston Kampen and the estate of James Lawrence Ellington. Two bonds were issued and filed with the court by the Great American Insurance Company (the bonding company). Both Kampen and Ellington left the assets in their estates to the San Francisco Opera Association (the Opera *977 Association) as the contingent beneficiary. In 1996, the Opera Association knew it was the sole beneficiary of both estates.

In 1999, Flickinger obtained a final order for distribution in the Ellington estate. Flickinger did not take any further action for many years. In January 2009, the Opera Association filed separate petitions with regard to both estates to, among other things, surcharge Flickinger.

The probate court conducted a trial on the petitions in both estates. At the end of the trial, the court found that Flickinger breached his fiduciary duty. The court surcharged Flickinger for the loss of value to the estates caused by his unreasonable delay and also surcharged him the compensation he had received in 1999 related to the Ellington estate. The court, however, found that Flickinger had not used the funds or…