St. John's Hospital Foundation Sues to Enforce Donation Pledge

Paula Kent Meehan made a fortune after launching the Redken hair-care products company in the 1960s. She spent the last years of her life giving that money to charity.

One of the biggest beneficiaries was supposed to be St. John's Health Center, a storied Santa Monica, Calif. hospital founded by Roman Catholic nuns that has cared for celebrity patients such as Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and President Reagan.

But in 2013, Meehan revoked her pledge to the St. John's foundation after the ouster of the hospital's top executives and the proposed sale of the nonprofit Catholic hospital. And now the hospital's foundation is suing her estate for the $5 million that she originally promised.