Emergency Petition Seeks to Expedite Conservatorship for CEO of Nursing Home Giant Life Care Centers

An emergency petition on Tuesday was filed to expedite the conservatorship action brought by the son of Life Care Centers of America CEO Forrest Preston, as other executive members cited year-end obligations.

Preston’s son, Aubrey B. Preston, should be appointed as his conservator on an emergency basis, executives said, due to the critical and time-sensitive needs of Tennessee-based nursing home operator Life Care and its affiliates. Forrest is incapable of attending to his duties as CEO in his disabled status, the executives allege in the court filings.

The son is requesting limited powers necessary to protect his father’s health, safety and welfare. And, in consultation with Life Care President Todd Fletcher and CFO Steve Ziegler, the younger Preston is seeking to make all decisions for Life Care and its affiliates that his father made in his leadership roles.

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“[Forrest] is often the sole decision maker for essential business decisions or sole authorized signatory for essential documents,” Ziegler said in the court filing.

A new court date of Nov. 12 was set to hear the emergency request, while a hearing on the original petition was scheduled for mid-January. The action seeks a 60-day appointment in line with the maximum under Tennessee law until the January hearing, according to a report from the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Fletcher said that despite Forrest’s current roles with Life Care and its affiliates, he neglected his responsibilities by often being absent for weeks if not months on end.

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“Forrest’s extended absences have occurred even when pivotal action items were required of him, including [failure] to timely execute loan documents that almost caused the default of an over $100,000,000 loan on one occasion,” Fletcher claimed in court documents.

Personal observations by Ziegler and Fletcher indicate that Forrest Preston is mentally disabled and can no longer understand basic business issues. The executives don’t believe he has the capacity to understand and execute legal documents on behalf of Life Care and its affiliates, according to court documents.

Ziegler and Fletcher said in the court documents that they believe Forrest no longer comprehends even some of the more basic aspects of Life Care and its affiliate operations.

“He, in fact, regularly exhibits confusion about routine matters in his daily life that are far less complex than the business issues he contends with at Life Care and its affiliates,” said Ziegler.

Significant business decisions on the immediate horizon for Life Care include loan renewal documents and vote equity shares to guide the businesses’ direction, court documents show.

Ziegler pointed to year-end tasks that need to be completed. The team can’t wait for January to take action, he said.

Aubrey noted that his father may be a potential flight risk as Forrest’s wife, Kim Nguyen Preston, asked an employee of the nursing home company to begin the process of renewing a passport for Forrest, according to court documents.

Life Care’s executive team is concerned that Nguyen Preston may terminate key employees of Life Care in retaliation as well.

Court filings allege the wife and her siblings also engaged in conspiracy and civilly aided one another in misappropriating Forrest’s assets, citing violations of the Tennessee Adult Protection Act. The filing also claims that since marrying in 2018, Nguyen Preston has progressively isolated Forrest from his family and friends.

The complaint suggests that instead of protecting him, Nguyen Preston and her family unlawfully enriched themselves, acquiring significant real estate and cash.

The older Preston is being asked by a county judge to submit to two medical examinations within 10 days amid the conservatorship petition.

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