Note: in the podcast is an interview I did with Mike Flint last year about this affair.
Tomorrow, in the probate division of Orange County California court system, another chapter in the ongoing saga over the Flint estate will unfold.
According to the online docket, a slate of hearings is scheduled for tomorrow.
One person who will likely be there is attorney Pamela Koslyn.
Koslyn is not a beneficiary, trustee, successor trustee, or anything else in this estate.
She has no role. Instead, a business dispute with Mike Flint, who is a beneficiary, led to an award of approximately $50,000 which has somehow grown over just a few years into $500,000 against Flint.
Rather than trying to collect from him, she went to the trust, which was once worth around $5 million.
Now, it’s worth much less, though no one is sure how much.
The trust once comprised three valuable properties: now, it’s down to two.
If Koslyn has her way, it will be zero and she’ll collect.
Koslyn’s appearance tomorrow- along with every day since the summer of 2024- is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows.
That’s because on August 8, 2024, Orange County, California Judge Brad Erdosi- this case is playing out in Orange County- ruled that Koslyn had no standing in this trust.
“Koslyn has no interest in Joyce’s estate. Koslyn has no interest in any version of the Trust. Koslyn is Judgment Creditor of a trust beneficiary. Koslyn is entitled to satisfy her judgment from any distribution the trustee makes to Michael. However, Koslyn does not have any say in determining trustor’s intent or the proper interpretation of the Trust,” Judge Erdosi wrote bluntly on August 8, 2024.
The parties- Mike and Guy Flint who are both Joyce Flint’s sons- were ecstatic. This paved the way to settle the trust so they could finally enjoy it.
Except, the next day another judge, Ebrahim Baytieh, heard a motion from Koslyn and granted Koslyn’s motion to remove Cheri O’Laverty as trustee.
Prior to being elected judge, Judge Baytieh was embroiled in scandal as a prosecutor in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA).
I previously interviewed Guy and Mike Flint, along with Cheri O’Laverty.
Guy and Mike said Cheri was the only person they trusted. Cheri provided me a statement which noted in part.
In June of 2024, a trial occurred in the presence of Judge Glenn Salter wherein Pamela Koslyn sought an order from the Court requesting her judgment against Michael Flint be enforced against the Estate of Joyce Flint. Judge Salter ruled that Pamela Koslyn’s judgment was against Michael Flint solely and could not be enforced against the Estate of Joyce Flint. Further, Judge Salter ruled that Ms. Koslyn had no standing (rights with respect to enforcement of her judgment against the Estate) to contest any actions with respect to the Estate of Joyce Flint. Moreover, since Pamela Koslyn had no standing with respect to the Estate, she was prohibited from involving herself in the affairs of the Estate. After confirming the judgment made by Judge Salter, Judge Bradley Erdosi of the Orange County Probate Court also unequivocally confirmed that Pamela Koslyn has no standing to interfere with the matters of the Estate of Joyce Flint. Yet, despite making these explicit rulings, not more than a few days passed and Pamela Koslyn was back at it again, contesting the right of Cheri O’Laverty to act as the Successor Trustee (which the Will and Trust of Joyce Flint specifically provided that O’Laverty would be selected as the Successor Trustee). Koslyn had no right whatsoever to participate in the selection of the Successor Trustee of the Estate yet she blatantly disregarding Judge Salter’s ruling – thumbing her nose in the face of the Court as she has done numerous times for 6 years.
The Orange County Court System of jumping from Judge to Judge, coupled with Koslyn obfuscation of the facts has Judges failing to recognize and/or honor a previous judges ruling(s).
Koslyn, along with her attorney Matt Mickelson, did not respond to emails for comment.
Cheri was replaced as trustee by Jason Rubin, who promptly wrote a whiny declaration which he first claimed the trust was insolvent, “there was zero liquidity to fund anything,” Rubin said in his whiny declaration.
Later on, he asked for an exorbitant fee.
The $55,000 fee from the “illiquid trust” has only increased.
Rubin has done nothing to reign in Koslyn.
Rubin did not respond to an email for comment.
The quick reversal from Judge Erdosi’s ruling to Judge Baytieh’s ruling raised the ire of Guy Flint’s attorney, Mark Herrick, who fired off an application which stated in part.
“On August 8, 2024, Judge Bradley Erdosi ruled that Pamela Koslyn has no interest in Joyce Flint’s estate,” Herrick’s application stated.
Herrick did not respond to an email for comment.
His pleas went unheard. Koslyn remained a part of the process.
With Koslyn still hovering over the trust, nothing moves forward, but it wasn’t even this lawyer who triggered the nightmare.
Rather, another attorney, Sandra DeMeo, snaked her way into Joyce Flint’s life, convinced Joyce to take over the trust, and against Joyce’s wishes, wrote the trust in way that it could be broken up.
By doing so, she left it vulnerable to Koslyn’s actions; she also helped herself to $40,000 she wasn’t entitled to, while demanding hundreds of thousands in fees.
Rubin has also done nothing to reign her in, claiming a lawsuit would be too expensive.
DeMeo did not return a voicemail for comment.
With all that, the valuable trust has been drained, awash in a sea of legal fees, with lawyers getting fat while the Flint brothers watch as their nest egg disappears.
Post-script
Check out the fundraiser for Orange County.
Here are the previous articles in the series. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8. Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25. Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38, Part 39, Part 40, Part 41, Part 42, Part 43, Part 44, Part 45, Part 46, Part 47, Part 48, Part 49, Part 50, Part 51, Part 52, Part 53, Part 54, Part 55, Part 56, Part 57, Part 58, Part 59, and Part 60, and 61.
