Legacy in jeopardy: Erie businessman Pat Black sues adopted daughter to recover fortune

Erie entrepreneur Samuel P. "Pat" Black III thought he had found the ideal person to take over his portfolio of businesses, including the Hero BX biofuels plant on the site of the former International Paper Hammermill plant on East Lake Road.

In 2019, at age 77, Black not only named his friend, Sumi James, then 44, as his heir apparent, he also adopted her as his daughter.

Five years later, their relationship has unraveled.

And so have Black's businesses.

Black, who inherited hundreds of millions of dollars in family wealth, is now, at 82, out of liquid assets and struggling to keep his businesses financially sound, according to a 327-page lawsuit he filed in U.S. District Court in Erie.

Black is blaming his adopted daughter, Sumi James-Black, for his troubles, as well as what had been his longtime legal counsel, the Erie law firm of Knox, McLaughlin, Gornall & Sennett. They are two of the defendants in the suit. Black is claiming they defrauded him.

The Knox firm has already moved to get the case dismissed.

An in-depth look into lawsuit, legal cases

The Erie Times-News has spent months looking into the massive lawsuit and other legal cases surrounding Pat Black and his business operations. Its report details an unusual family saga and how it has diminished Black's fortune and his businesses — ventures that he hoped would help anchor the Erie economy for generations.

In Depth: Pat Black was one of Erie's richest. Now he is suing adopted daughter over fading fortune

"It's a depletion of his life," said one of Black's lawyers, Anthony Angelone. "It is incredible — this systematic fleecing that took place over the years that essentially ends up taking over a man's life."

Contact epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella .

Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com .

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Legacy in jeopardy: Erie businessman Pat Black sues adopted daughter to recover fortune