Minnesota Vikings Owners Must Pay $15M More in Montville Legal Dispute

The Wilf family, owners of the Minnesota Vikings, must pay about $15.1 million to cover lawyer fees and other expenses for two business partners the family was found to have cheated in a dispute over Montville's Rachel Gardens apartment complex, The Star-Ledger reported.

A November report by former federal judge Stephen Orlofsky recommended the Wilfs pay $8.9 million to Ada Reichmann, of Toronto, and $6.2 million to her brother, Josef Halpern, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who had worked with the family for more than two decades.

That plan was approved Monday by Judge Deanne Wilson at Morris County Superior Court. The judge added stipulations that the Wilfs also pay about $500,000 more for legal services rendered by two law firms already owed $8.9 million, the article said.

The more than $15 million in fees the Wilfs must pay is in addition to $84.5 million in damages awarded to Reichmann and Halpern last September. 

The lawsuit was filed 21 years ago and names as defendants principal Vikings owner Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf, his brother Mark Wilf and their cousin, Leonard Wilf. The article said the family is appealing the case and asking the judge to delay the payments and public release of the Wilfs' net worth until the matter is heard in appellate court. If the family loses its appeal, the partnership will be dissolved and Rachel Gardens will be sold, according to the Star-Ledger.