Randy Meisner Of The Eagles: “I’m In A Lot Of Pain Right Now”

BY NANCY DILLON, reposted from New York Daily News (here)

Aging Eagles rocker Randy Meisner broke his silence Friday and said he’s wracked by grief after his wife Lana accidentally shot herself to death in their home last month.

“I’m in a lot of pain right now,” Meisner told a Los Angeles County judge shortly before winning the latest round in his ongoing conservatorship case.

Wearing a black suit and his long gray hair pulled back in a ponytail, Meisner made the rare public appearance to confirm he wanted friend Arthur Ford appointed as temporary conservator of his day-to-day affairs and accountant Thomas De Long as conservator of his multimillion dollar estate.

“I just want to get over this, you know,” Meisner, 70, told the court.

The judge granted Meisner’s request on an emergency basis, pending a follow-up hearing May 25.

Longtime family friend James Newton traveled from Nebraska for the hearing and opposed the appointment of Ford.
Newton’s lawyer Troy Martin told the judge Meisner suffers from substance abuse issues, mental illness and a traumatic brain injury.

“Mr. Meisner is a very sick man. He has a trio of problems which are very deadly together,” Martin said during the morning hearing. “We are concerned the people selected by Mr. Meisner are not well suited to care for somebody with his unique conditions.”

Meisner’s lawyer Bruce Fuller said Ford planned to hire experienced caregivers as soon as possible.

“Mr. Meisner is in a fragile state right now,” Fuller said. “Having a stranger come in and start to do things for him as this point would be detrimental. I don’t see how upsetting him at this point would be to his benefit.”

The judge ordered further assessment of Meisner and said the rest of a private settlement reached in the conservatorship battle that started last year remained in place.

Meisner had threatened to harm himself in the wake of her death and was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold.

Outside court, Martin said Newton planned to press ahead with his dueling petition to place an experienced social worker at the helm of Meisner’s personal affairs.

“We need to be assured Mr. Meisner is getting adequate care,” he said.

Martin said Meisner’s three adult children also are very concerned and support Newton’s efforts.

Son Eric Meisner got in a car and drove from Nebraska to see his dad in the hospital last month after a firearm accidentally discharged, hitting Lana in the head, as she was moving it from the closet it was stored in.

Meisner had threatened to harm himself in the wake of her death and was placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold.

Eric Meisner was turned away at the hospital and never got to see his dad, Martin said.
“The children would like nothing more than to be a part of their father’s life,” the lawyer told the Daily News after Friday’s hearing.

In paperwork filed March 11, Fuller said the Eagles bassist hoped his voluntary petition requesting the help of Ford and De Long would convince his kids he was in good hands.

“In this time of loss, (Meisner) is increasingly anxious that his estranged children and/or (Newton) will attempt to contact him,” the filing said.

Meisner wants his kids to “stay at a distance while he grieves,” the petition claimed.

Ford did not allow Meisner to answer any questions after the hearing.