Intentions to donate the ranch of the late Janet Reno to Miami Dade College were announced last April. However, Janet Reno’s niece—Janet Meliha Reno—might prevent that from happening.
In court documents recently examined by The Reporter, Janet Meliha Reno filed a motion to contest the transference of the ranch to MDC, saying that her aunt’s will doesn’t permit the ranch to go anywhere other than the University of Miami.
The will, prepared in 2008, stipulated that the ranch would be placed into a trust run by her siblings, brothers Robert and Mark and sister Margaret Hurchalla, and sold upon their deaths. But both of them died before Reno, leaving the trust in the care of Margaret Hurchalla; she appointed her son, James Hurchalla, as the executioner of the trust.
The will also gave first preference to the University of Miami, but they were unable to commit to the preservation requirements outlined in the document, specifying that it “must be preserved in perpetuity.”
James Hurchalla filed a cy-près doctrine last May to modify the terms of the will, allowing for the donation of the homestead to MDC. Every beneficiary of the trust agreed to the change—except for Janet Meliha Reno.
The younger Reno filed a motion in July objecting to the transfer of the property, saying that the trust did not allow the family to transfer the property to an institution not directly stipulated.
“The [trust language] contains clear and unambiguous instruction to the trustee to offer to temporarily gift or loan the Reno Homestead to the University of Miami,” the filing said. “The Trust simply does not contain any language that would indicate any intent on behalf of the Decedent to gift the property for a general charitable purpose to support other educational institutions.”
Instead, Reno would prefer the property sold and the funds dispersed among the nieces and nephews of the late Reno.
“It is now incumbent upon [Hurchalla], as the Trustee, to adhere to the plain language of the Trust and to sell the Reno Homestead and distribute the proceeds to the Decedent’s nieces and nephews,” the filing continued.
However, Alan Greer, the attorney representing the Reno estate, says the process is being carried out in accordance with Reno’s wishes.
“Janet Reno wanted [the ranch] preserved in perpetuity. [The ranch is] a historically significant piece of property,” Greer said. “That was her intent and that is what we seek to accomplish.”
If the ranch is allowed to be transferred to the College, it will be incorporated under Kendall Campus’ Environmental Center. The property is about a 10-minute walk from the campus.
A spokesman for the College did not respond to a request for comment.
Greer says they plan on filing a motion to seek judgment on the proceedings within the next month. The attorney for Janet Meliha Reno, Hung Nguyen, was tight-lipped about the case.
“We’re not interested in commenting on it while the case is pending,” Nguyen said. “We want to let the legal process take its due course.”
No side can say definitively when the case will end. However, Greer believes it will be worked out in the estate’s—and MDC’s—favor.
“We are very optimistic that it will ultimately be arraigned to be transferred to the College,” Greer said.
