Lawyer claims fees drained Rosa Parks' estate

DETROIT (AP) - A lawyer involved in a long-running dispute over the estate of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks claims two other lawyers piled up fees...

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DETROIT (AP) — A lawyer involved in a long-running dispute over the estate of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks claims two other lawyers piled up fees that ate away about two-thirds of the estate’s $372,000 cash value.

The Detroit Free Press reported Thursday that the financial condition of Parks’ estate was outlined in a recent filing with the Michigan Supreme Court by Steven Cohen, who represents Parks’ caretaker Elaine Steele and the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development.

Messages seeking comment were left Thursday by The Associated Press for lawyers John Chase Jr. and Melvin Jefferson Jr.

The dispute involves Parks’ relatives.

Parks was arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus to a white man. Parks died in 2005 at age 92.

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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

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