Newman's Own Foundation Responds To Lawsuit Filed By Newman Daughters

WESTPORT, CT — Newman's Own Foundation, the private charity foundation established by the late actor and philanthropist Paul Newman in 2005, has issued a statement in the wake of a lawsuit filed by two of his daughters Tuesday.

The lawsuit, filed in Stamford Superior Court by Nell and Susan Newman, claims they have essentially been frozen out of the foundation's charitable giving, which they say runs against the long-time Westport resident's wishes.

In its response, the foundation calls the lawsuit "meritless," and said that it could divert funds away from the charitable recipients Newman sought to help.

"The Board's philanthropic giving decisions vary each year and the importance of our mission requires us to make the best use of our finite resources," the foundation wrote in a statement emailed to Patch. "Paul Newman established the Newman's Own Foundation as a private foundation in 2005. The Foundation is governed by a board of directors that must adhere to regulations applicable to 501(c)(3) organizations. Best practices surrounding philanthropic organizations do not allow for the establishment of perpetual funding allotments for anyone, including Nell and Susan Newman. A meritless lawsuit based on this faulty wish would only divert money away from those who benefit from Paul Newman's generosity."

According to the lawsuit, the foundation was supposed to allocate $400,000 each year to each of the "daughters' foundations" to allow them to donate to charities of their choosing. Those amounts were cut in half by the foundation in 2020 to $200,000 to each of the daughters' organizations.

The foundation said it will continue to seek input from the Newman family for charitable giving.

"While we expect to continue to solicit Newman family recommendations for worthy organizations, our funding decisions are made each year and will continue to reflect the clear aim of Paul Newman and our responsibility to the best practices governing private foundations," the foundation wrote.