The legal battle over the fortune of the late Warren Weiner, former owner of the now-defunct Deb Shops, has moved to federal court after years of disputes in Montgomery County Common Pleas and Orphans’ Courts, writes Joseph N. DiStefano for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The Villanova family remains locked in a dispute of over $200 million, from the Deb Shops sale and other investments. Last week, Kimberly Block, Weiner’s daughter, filed the latest lawsuit against her mother, Penny Weiner, moving the battle to federal court.
Weiner, who passed away in 2012, set up his fortune to be managed by his wife, daughters Block and Robyn Carp, and family advisers. The remaining assets were intended to be divided between the daughters after Penny Weiner’s death. Tensions later arose as Block questioned the estate management, straining relationships with her mother and sister.
In a federal complaint filed March 19, Block’s lawyers allege that her mother attempted to remove her as an heir, moved funds from family accounts without authorization, and threatened both daughters with substantially higher taxes.
A lawyer for Weiner stated the complaint is “the latest desperate attempt in a long-running family dispute that has been litigated for years across multiple courts.”
Read more about the lawsuit dividing a Villanova family in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on MONTCO Today in March 2026.
