A charity named after Audrey Hepburn sued the actress’ oldest son Wednesday, alleging he interfered in the fund’s ability to raise funds for children’s charities.
The Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against Sean Ferrer, seeking unspecified damages and a court declaration that the fund has the right to use the Hepburn IP for fundraising without getting his permission.
A representative for Ferrer, 56, could not be immediately reached.
Ferrer and his half-brother Luca Dotti, along with actor Robert Wolders, created the charity — also called Hollywood for Children — following Hepburn’s 1993 death, the suit states.
In her later years, Hepburn traveled the world as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF to raise awareness of children in need.
About eight years ago, Ferrer began having financial problems and went through a difficult divorce from his third wife, according to the lawsuit.
From April 2013 through the present, Ferrer — whose father is the late actor Mel Ferrer — has “intentionally interfered with the activities of the fund,” including taking control of its GoDaddy account, which manages the fund’s domains and emails, the suit states.
In January 2015, Ferrer tried to have Hubert de Givenchy back-date and falsify a letter concerning his prior donation to the fund of gowns worn by Hepburn and used for exhibitions, the complaint alleges.
The French fashion designer was asked to state that he had instead donated the gowns to Ferrer and Dotti, but “de Givenchy rightfully refused to do so,” according to the lawsuit.
—City News Service