The courtroom showdown over whether Julie Westerfield, the heiress to the Jergens hand cream fortune, was the victim of undue influence in an elder abuse fraud case was declared on July 30 all but over by Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle.
On May 5, after more than three weeks of trial, 12 jurors quickly and unanimously agreed that financial elder abuse, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty had, indeed, been committed against Westerfield by the family’s former babysitter, Jordana Snider. Three years ago, at age 51, Snider had gotten herself legally adopted by Westerfield. Westerfield’s son, Christopher, now 37, then discovered that his mother had gifted a four-acre Ojai property — then valued at $2.2 million — to his former babysitter, and he called attorney John Thyne III, who filed legal papers against Snider to get the gift rescinded.
Court documents indicate that Snider and Julie Westerfield had indeed maintained warm and cordial relations over the decades, and that Westerfield had been extremely generous to her former babysitter. But the late-life adoption took place, Thyne contended in heated court papers, right about the time Westerfield’s dementia was first diagnosed in 2022 when, in short order, Westerfield wrote a check for $300,000 and another for $200,000. One was returned and the other exceeded bank size allowances.
When Westerfield’s son accused Snider of undue influence and elder fraud of someone with diminished capacity, Snider accused Chris Westerfield of undue influence in seeking to turn his own mother against her. In the process, Snider dredged up Christopher’s troubles with substance abuse and mental health challenges. As Judge Anderle understatedly observed, “The case has been contentious, acrimonious at times.”
Judge Aderle showed no inclination to undo the adoption, initially approved by Judge Colleen Sterne, who at the time, had not heard a syllable of objection. In May, when the jury unanimously found in favor of Westerfield, it also required that Snider had to return the house, now said be worth as much as $4 million, and pay $150,000 in punitive damages, plus the costs Westerfield incurred in legal and conservator’s fees, roughly $320,000.
Attorneys for Snider then filed lengthy arguments asking Anderle to set aside the jury’s verdict and to declare a mistrial. Attorneys for Westerfield answered with just as lengthy arguments to the contrary. Judge Anderle heaped praise on the lawyering skill exhibited by both sides, but as is his custom, declined to budge an inch. As a judge, Anderle is known for his booming delivery. As a writer, he is inclined that way, too. “Jordana’s [Snider] motions are DENIED,” he wrote, adding, “The court repeats what it has said before: The case was exceptionally well lawyered.”
