The Evenstad family's award-winning Oregon vineyard is her namesake, and her parents allegedly covered her bills, lavished her with luxury cars and helped fund multimillion-dollar mansions.
uncertain
parents → win → mansions
But Serene Warren felt she had been wronged by her tycoon father when her younger brother received a bigger slice of the Minnesota family's empire he had helped build following the sale of their pharmaceutical company.
asserted
he → feel → company
The 58-year-old heiress complained that the $283 million she received from the sale was insufficient and in 2018 sued her family for $228 million in damages, sparking an acrimonious legal battle that splintered the Evenstad clan in the final years of the patriarch's life.
asserted
that → complain → life
But last month, after a rancorous legal back and forth that has now dragged on for eight years, Warren was handed a win in Minnesota State Supreme Court.
asserted
Warren → drag → Court
Last year, an appeals court reversed a state district court's previous ruling that ordered the family's firm to make redemption payments to Warren to the tune of $41 million.
asserted
that → reverse → million
In August, however, that decision was reversed by the Supreme Court, which found that Warren did, in fact, have standing to sue and found that the appeals court 'did not address several issues raised in the appeal,' remanding the case.
asserted
court → reverse → case
Attorneys for her brother Mark Evenstad, 57, and mother Grace Evenstad, 82, filed a petition for a rehearing before the Supreme Court in response to the ruling, but it was denied last week.
Pharmaceutical tycoon Ken Evenstad is pictured with his daughter Serene Warren.
asserted
Evenstad → file → daughter
He died in 2020 estranged from his only daughter as she battled him over money
Ken Evenstad is pictured with his wife Grace at Domaine Serene.
asserted
Evenstad → die → Serene
The couple bankrolled their daughter Serene's life, their legal papers claimed, only for her to sue over claims they devalued her 25 percent stake in the family pharmaceuticals corporation
Warren's late father Ken Evenstad made his fortune running the pharmaceutical company Upsher-Smith after buying it in 1969 for $1,500, transforming the small, struggling business into a successful prescription drug manufacturer.
uncertain
father → bankroll → manufacturer
But it was his daughter, according to previous court filings, that was the apple of his eye.
uncertain
that → accord → eye
In 1989, Ken named his newly purchased Oregon vineyard Domaine Serene in Warren's honor.
asserted
Ken → name → honor
It subsequently grew to become one of the United States' most acclaimed pinot noir producers and Ken's most treasured asset.
asserted
It → grow → producers
The combined success of the winery and Upsher-Smith afforded Warren an opulent lifestyle beyond the wildest imaginations of most Americans.
asserted
success → combine → Americans
Ken and his wife Grace showered their daughter with cash, covering living expenses, private-school tuition for her three children, country-club dues, health-care premiums and payment for taxes and luxury cars, all of which totaled an eye-watering $250 million, their court papers claimed.
asserted
papers → shower → million
They even helped fund Warren's $3 million mansion on Lake Minnetonka that she shares with her husband Chris, and a number of apartments in Austin, Texas
asserted
she → fund → Austin
, the filings alleged.
asserted
filings → allege → ?
Due to her family's success, Warren gave up work in 1994 at the age of 26 because she wanted to be a full-time mother to her three children, the papers said.
asserted
papers → give → children
More than two decades later, however, her relationship with her family crumbled.
asserted
relationship → crumble → family
Father and daughter are seen here drinking wine at the acclaimed Oregon vineyard Domaine Serene
Domaine Serene opened in 1989 and is one of the top pinot noir producers in the United States
Serene's brother Mark Evenstad became CEO of Upsher-Smith in 2003
Warren's brother Mark had taken the reins of Upsher-Smith as CEO in 2003 and quadrupled the company's value by the time its generic drug business was put up for sale in 2016.
asserted
business → see → 2016
As a reward for the company's success, Mark was awarded an extra 1.5 percent of stock in 2014 – a decision that irked Warren.
asserted
that → award → Warren
Both siblings already held a 25 percent stake, but Ken decided to give his son more, originally wanting to raise his son's stake to 35 percent, according to court papers.
uncertain
Ken → hold → papers
Warren, however, objected to it, and Mark was ultimately given a 26.5 percent stake in the business.
asserted
Mark → object → business
Still, this upset Warren, and, according to her lawsuit, she felt the award diluted the value of her holding in Upsher-Smith.
uncertain
award → upset → Smith
On a 2016 trip to the Domaine Serene vineyard, she tried to speak to her father about the matter while preparing dinner with him, sparking an argument that sent him into a rage, Warren claimed in a court document.
asserted
Warren → try → document
'He started shouting and pounded his fist on the counter and says that's a passive investment,' she claimed in her lawsuit, writing that her father added that the business was none of her concern.
asserted
business → start → concern
That was the last time Warren ever saw Ken.
asserted
Warren → see → Ken
She cut off her mother, father and brother for 'emotional protection' that same year, her lawsuit claimed, and she missed out on her parents' 50th wedding anniversary.
asserted
she → cut → anniversary
In 2017 she demanded the family firm be sold as a path toward her own 'financial independence.'
asserted
firm → demand → independence
That same year, Upsher-Smith's generic drug business was acquired by the Japanese firm Sawai Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd, for $1.1 billion.
asserted
business → acquire → billion
A portion of the company assets kept from the sale were formed into another company, ACOVA, which remained under control of the family.
asserted
which → keep → family
Warren received $283 million from the sale, while her CEO brother received an undisclosed payout, plus part of the $75 million bonus split between himself and his late father.
asserted
brother → receive → himself
After suing her family in 2018 for $228 million in damages, Warren turned down a settlement offer of $150 million.
asserted
Warren → sue → million
She claimed in her court filings that Ken raged at her during an interview with a mediator, saying: 'I find it despicable when we have provided her with $250 million, and there's still more to come.
asserted
we → claim → million
'What is she complaining about?...
asserted
she → complain → What
What's unfair is for her to get as much as she's gotten, and she's never lifted a finger to help in any way.
asserted
she → get → way
Warren's lawyers insisted she was just pursuing money that she was perfectly entitled to, her lawsuit said.
asserted
lawsuit → insist → that
Evenstad made his fortune after buying the then failing pharma firm Upsher-Smith for $1,500 in 1969, under his son Mark's leadership the company was valued at $1.1 billion
Serene Warren owns this lake side home in their $3 million home on Lake Minnetonka
Ken had made his feelings about Warren's legal action clear in previous court filings.
asserted
feelings → make → filings
In a note included as part of the family's legal case, he wrote: 'I'm hurt by the lack of gratitude from Serene and Chris and for the incredible lifestyle they are able to live, because of gifts from Grace and me.
asserted
they → include → Grace
I'm disappointed by the wasted time, energy, and money on legal fights rather than family harmony.
asserted
I → disappoint → harmony
'This legal fight has also taken valuable time from our business - one that serves people through advances in healthcare.'
asserted
that → take → healthcare
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia
