Kovtun

INTRODUCTION

This appeal is the latest in a series of appeals arising from Karolyn Kovtun’s ongoing dispute with her brother Gordon Kovtun over the estate of their parents, Jay and Lael Kovtun.1 Karolyn has had a contentious relationship with her parents for much of her adult life. In 2008, Jay and Lael amended the Kovtun Family Trust (the Trust) to completely disinherit and remove Karolyn as a beneficiary. More than a decade later, after Lael’s death, Karolyn filed a Petition for Instructions Regarding the Validity of the Trust (the Invalidity Petition). She alleged the Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Amendments to the Trust were invalid as the product of Gordon’s undue influence, and the Eleventh Amendment was also invalid due to fraud in the inducement and Lael’s lack of mental capacity. Gordon, acting in his capacity as trustee, filed a petition to enforce a no-contest clause in the Eleventh Amendment against Karolyn (the No- Contest Petition), and asserted Karolyn brought her Invalidity Petition without probable cause. Karolyn, in turn, filed a motion to strike the No- Contest Petition under the anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) statute. (Code Civ.…