Massachusetts woman sues new relatives she found on 23andMe home DNA test demanding share of $28M inheritance after sisters winning a malpractice lawsuit.
Isn’t it time you also did a DNA test? A Massachusetts woman who used a home DNA test only to discover she had two long sisters went on to sue her ‘new relatives’ after discovering that they had inherited a fortune after suing and winning a malpractice claim involving their deceased father.
Carmen Thomas, 28, of Lexington took a 23andMe DNA test in February, 2023 and learned she had two biological sisters, Kali and Abigail Brown, whose father, Joe, died in 2018 from an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm.
Joe was 43 when he was admitted to Salem Hospital that January after complaining of pain spreading from his upper abdomen to his chest and back, according to court filings.
How tragic death leads to windfall $28 million and a future claim against it
After Joe spent nearly an entire day of pain and struggling to breathe, doctors determined he was suffering from an aneurysm. But by then it was too late to save the parent after suddenly dying later that day.
Kali, Abigail and their mother, Kristin, sued the hospital, claiming its failure to diagnose Joe in a timely fashion cost precious hours that led to the man’s death.
A jury agreed and awarded the family $28.8 million in April 2023 — a month after Thomas contacted Kali hoping to introduce herself to her newly discovered half sisters.
Once Thomas found out about the settlement, she sued her half sisters, seeking ‘her’ share of the payout.
The ‘surprise’ suit against the family came as a shock to Kali and Abigail Brown, along with estate lawyers who have claimed the DNA test kits, are wreaking havoc for families handling their loved ones’ estates. States are grappling with how to rewrite laws to address the issue, and lawyers are encouraging people to rethink their estate plans.
In Thomas’ lawsuit against the family, the ‘lost relative’ emphasized what she claimed to be a joyous reunion between all of them a month before the settlement, including photos taken when they met.
But the Browns in their opposition filing stated that Abigail and Kali were actually ‘very upset and hesitant’ to meet with Thomas but only did so ‘against their gut instincts out of kindness.’
The sisters quickly regretted their ‘gracious act’ when Thomas grew ‘very assertive and possessive’ of the family from nearly the very beginning, according to a legal filing.
What does estate law say? Can a family protect against future inheritance claims?
The Browns’ lawyer, Joseph Lipchitz, wrote that Thomas ‘attempted to prey on the family financially and emotionally by demanding that they pay for her gas, food, and alcohol,’ including alleging Thomas threatening to hurt herself if they didn’t respond to her messages.
Then once Thomas learned of the settlement, everything quickly unraveled, he said.
‘Plaintiff’s gambit of attempting to obtain an injunction to freeze the assets of a grieving family is not only meritless, as a matter of law, it should been seen as an afront to this Court,’ he wrote.
Lipchitz said the family was stunned by the suit.
‘The death of their father was extraordinarily traumatic, as you can imagine. That was compounded by this putative heir all of a sudden showing up and demanding money,’ he told the Wall Street Journal.
The sisters made the decision to cease contact with Thomas in early April — even saying in a court filing that they have reason to doubt the alleged family connection because Thomas’ mother never came forward to say she had a relationship with Joe Brown.
Lipchitz said that eventually, the case ‘was resolved favorably’ for his clients — in part due to Thomas’ claim coming too long after her alleged father’s death.
No further details of any settlement have been shared.
23andMe filed bankruptcy in March, sparking concerns about how the one-time Silicon Valley darling would safeguard the personal data of its 15 million customers. Do you suppose…?
