The estate of the late wife of a former “Survivor” producer has agreed to pay $42,500 to settle a dispute that began over delinquent rent payments at the Brazilian restaurant the woman once owned, according to court papers filed Thursday.
Alex Borden, an attorney and the administrator of the estate of Monica Beresford-Redmond, states in his court documents brought in Los Angeles Superior Court that an agreement was reached Tuesday with Lorraine Morgan, the owner of the building that once housed the Zabumba Bar & Restaurant on Venice Boulevard in Palms. The resolution is subject to approval by a judge.
Bruce Beresford-Redman, the former “Survivor” producer, is serving a 12-year prison sentence imposed on him in March 2015 in Mexico for his wife’s killing.
The body of the 41-year-old woman was found in April 2010 in a sewer at the Moon Palace Hotel in Cancun, where she and her husband were vacationing.
Shortly after their sister’s death, Monica Beresford-Redmond’s sisters, Jeane Burgos and Carla Van Bastelaar, were named special administrators of their sister’s estate with limited powers to continue operations at the Zabumba.
Morgan filed an action against Burgos and Van Bastelaar in April 2011 for non-payment of rent.
Burgos and Van Bastelaar entered an agreement to resolve the dispute in July 2011. However, Borden filed a petition in September 2014 challenging whether Burgos and Van Bastellar had the legal authority to bind their sister’s estate to the terms of their resolution with Morgan.
A judge ruled that the probate court should rule on the petition. But when Borden filed court papers again in two months later in probate court, a judge in January 2015 said the court that issued the earlier judgment should hear the case.
After the Zabumba closed, Van Bastellar continued to operate another Brazilian restaurant for a while at the same site, said attorney Richard Petty, who has represented both of Monica Beresford-Redmond’s sisters.
–City News Service