Last Thursday, June 25, 2009, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, heard oral arguments in the case of Marshall v. Marshall, regarding the decade long ongoing battle over the J. Howard Marshall/Anna Nicole Smith, a.k.a., Vickie Lynn Marshall estate.

It was conducted in Seattle at the William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse.  According to my sources, Larry Birkhead and his team were able to hide out and avoid media, showing up in the courtroom around 11:00 a.m..  Whereas, Howard K. Stern, the primary executor of Anna Nicole’s estate, most likely did not show up due to the impending criminal charges against him in Los Angeles.

The parties addressed: (1) whether Vickie Lynn Marshall’s (“Vickie”) claim was a “core” bankruptcy proceeding; (2) if Vickie’s claim was not a “core” bankruptcy proceeding, whether the Texas probate court’s judgment precludes Vickie’s claim, in whole, or, in part; (3) whether the statute of frauds affects Vickie’s ability to establish her claim; (4) whether the discovery sanctions ordered by the district court were reasonable; and (5) if Vickie’s surviving child is a real party in interest and has no guardian ad litem, whether the court should appoint a guardian ad litem and, if so, who the guardian ad litem should be and what provisions should be made for the guardian ad litem’s compensation.

A decision is expected to be published very soon, so stay tuned for a more in depth analysis of how this case has tremendous impact on the legal precedent it may set for our great nation.