PROVIDENCE – A Superior Court judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing real estate developer Arnold “Buff” Chace Jr. of self-dealing in his handling of a $80-million family trust.
Judge Brian Stern P. Stern concluded that he did not have enough facts to rule whether Chace and William Saltonstall “acted solely in the interests of beneficiaries” as trustees of the family trust, as required, and that the case should head to trial.
Stern observed that “nothing in the broad language of the … Trust expressly states that Trustees are not bound by one of the most central duties – the duty of loyalty – and that self-dealing is allowed.”
At issue are a series of deals in which Buff used trust money to help purchase and renovate the buildings in downtown Providence through his development company, Cornish Associates.
Stern, however, declined to remove Buff and Saltonstall as trustees, saying more facts and evidence need to be vetted.
Animus, distrust divide stories family
Malcolm “Kim” Chace III made Buff Chace and his stepson Saltonstall trustees upon his death in 2011.