Slashdot Mirror


Hans Reiser Sued By Own Kids For $15 Million

New submitter haruchai writes "The Reiser kids, now aged 12 and 11, have had a lawsuit filed against the former Linux developer, inventor of ReiserFS and convicted murderer of the mother of his children, to the tune of $15 million. It's believed he may have hidden assets and a judgment is sought so a search for these can be conducted." A judge denied requests that the kids testify or return to the U.S. for their own well-being.

10 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. Maniacs, all maniacs by WhiteHover · · Score: 5, Funny

    This just shows that FOSS fanatics are maniacs in real life too, and can't be trusted. I mean come on, you put your business into hands of these maniacs? Maniacs!

    1. Re:Maniacs, all maniacs by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 5, Funny

      What? His wife committed adultery. She preferred ext4.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  2. "sued by own kids" by mfwitten · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sure...

    His kids don't know what the heck is going on. As always, the kids are just tools in the machinations of the adults.

    1. Re:"sued by own kids" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      In America, you sue kids?! ;)

  3. Wouildn't his kids inherit his money anyway? by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hmmm, I guess the guardians can't wait that long. Besides, what are they going to do if he doesn't cooperate, throw him in jail?

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
    1. Re:Wouildn't his kids inherit his money anyway? by u38cg · · Score: 5, Informative

      Bank accounts: typically, the account gets closed after several (potentially many) years of non-activity, and the bank then retains a liability if the owner or estate ever shows up. Depending on the laws of the particular state, this liability can usually be written off after a period of time, similar to abandoned property. Usually the profit accrues to the bank, but some states have laws regarding how such funds are used.

      --
      [FUCK BETA]
    2. Re:Wouildn't his kids inherit his money anyway? by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Seems perfectly fair if I agree to hold people's money and take liability for it for many years, and you disappear with no will or anything else, that I should keep the money

      So if you hold my money for years, then I want it back, you have to give it to me and get nothing extra. But if I die without instructions then you get to just keep it? Seems like that gives you the wrong sort of incentive.

  4. Hidden assets. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's believed he may have hidden assets and a judgment is sought so a search for these can be conducted.

    Probably in an vnode. Try "reiserfsck".

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  5. Re:Children that sue? by TheInternetGuy · · Score: 5, Informative

    I wonder who really initiated the suit. Not likely the kids: what do they know about money, at that age

    The lawsuit was initiated by the children's grand mother (Nina Reisers mother) who is their legal guardian and with whom the children now live in Russia.
    I don't pretend to know anything about her motives, but I don't see anything wrong with a grand mother trying to secure her grandchildren's future. Especially after all they have been through.

    --
    If my comment didn't sound as good in your head as it did in mine, then I guess we all know who's to blame
  6. The ego the size of the plamet. by westlake · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's five in the morning here and I am in no mood to be charitable.

    The lawsuit was initiated by the children's grandmother. Their legal guardian. Her lawyers are working pro bono.

    No fees. No slice of the pie. Got that?

    Moving on.

    Reiser is defending himself.

    In a way, he is always defending himself. Reiser, it seems, can do no wrong.

    He is the one who asked the judge to drag the kids into court.

    "Why?" you ask.

    What he wanted to do was to draw them into a grandiose scheme to promote his new and improved conspiracy theories and defense for the murder. The judge isn't playing along.

    He claims his wife was abusing the kids, that she had Factitious disorder by proxy --- often referred to as Munchausen syndrome by proxy --- where a caregiver harms or even kills someone they are in charge of in order to gain sympathy and attention. During the 2008 trial, Reiser alluded to that as well, accusing his wife of having the disease when she wanted to get their son surgery for severe hearing loss.

    In the unlawful death case, he now says why: ''I defended my children from harm.'' He added that, by murdering his wife, ''I stopped multiple felonies by doing so.''

    In his papers, he accuses the courts, the prison system, county children's services, his trial attorneys and others of conspiring against him, during his murder trial and now in the civil case.

    ''There are extensive legal grounds under multiple arguments for defending an innocent child when the state will not, at the cost of a non-innocent party's life,'' Hans Reiser wrote.

    Convicted of Murder, Linux Guru Hans Reiser Returns to Court to Fight Civil Suit

    "Wired" has it all, in Reiser's own handwriting.

    More.

    The beginning of Monday's trial was marked by impatience from the judge and the children's legal team. The complaint against Reiser was originally filed in August 2008 by the children's maternal grandmother and legal guardian, Irina Sharanova. The case has been stalled as Reiser filed various motions to delay proceedings and claimed that he has not had adequate access to his legal documents while at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga.

    ''This trial has been pending for a really long time,'' said Judge Dennis Hayashi about the pretrial claims. ''I also made it clear that I'm not delaying this any further. ... We need to move on.''

    Reiser, dressed in his orange prison uniform and appearing antsy at Hayashi's denials, has subpoenaed his children to appear in court.

    They are living in Russia with Sharanova and are not expected at the trial, [Sharanova's attorney] said.

    "I personally don't think it would do the children any good to come here and testify in this trial,"

    "They'd have to relive what they went through as very young children."

    Both of the children were at their father's house in the Montclair district when the killing is believed to have taken place.

    Jury selection begins in Hans Reiser civil trial