A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel ruled Wednesday it would not rehear the case. It also denied a request for a hearing before all members of the San Francisco-based court.
The appellate court ruled in March that a Houston jury was correct when it said J. Howard Marshall was mentally fit and under no undue pressure when he wrote a will leaving nearly all of his $1.6 billion estate to his son, E. Pierce Marshall. Lawyers for Smith's estate have said they would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
