Robbie Robertson’s widow is asking a judge to allow her to stay in the home where she and the late musician lived pending the outcome of arbitration of a dispute with his children from a previous marriage, who allege she took advantage of the cancer-stricken musician to enrich herself to his offspring’s detriment prior to his 2023 death.
Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Mark Epstein has maintained jurisdiction over the consolidated case brought by the children as well as a separate complaint filed by the widow, Janet Zuccarini, in which she maintains members of her late husband’s estate have failed to make payments on the mortgage on the home she and Robertson shared before he died.
In November, the judge ordered arbitration of the dispute after the parties agreed to resolve their dispute in that matter.
In court papers filed with Epstein on Friday pending an April 9 hearing, Zuccarini requests a preliminary injunction allowing her to remain in the Beverly Hills home until arbitration is completed.
“Sufficient grounds exist to issue the preliminary injunction because there is a substantial likelihood that Zuccarini will prevail on the merits of her claims and … preliminary injunctive relief is necessary,” Zuccarini’s attorneys state.
Robertson died of prostate cancer at age 80 in August 2023. His children’s suit, filed last May 22, alleges that three years after Zuccarini and Robertson began their relationship, Zuccarini convinced Robertson to sell his own house in order to purchase a $6 million Beverly Hills home that they would own equally.
The complaint further alleges Robertson paid the entire $1.8 million down payment and that Zuccarini scheduled a clandestine wedding in March 2023 that the children learned about just hours after it happened when they showed up for what they thought was an anniversary party.
The suit additionally contends that Zuccarini convinced Robertson to sign prenuptial and amended tenant-in-common agreements stating that if one of them died, the estate of the deceased would continue to pay one-half of the mortgage. But due to Robertson’s declining condition due to cancer, he allegedly did not fully understand what he was agreeing to and told his children after the wedding that they would have the option to either buy the Beverly Hills house from Zuccarini, sell his interest to her or sell it with her and split the proceeds.
But in a sworn declaration, Zuccarini says that she gave her husband time to discuss with his children the contractual agreements they had reached and exactly how the former guitarist for The Band wanted to provide for her after his death.