Barony of Verde taken to Court - Successor not legit?

[Region 12 Court House, year 224] The Barony of Verde has been remotely operated ever since the last Baron Javiar von Donnersmalt died in Year 173. He was a widower, both his sons already died young, and his daughter Lady Juliez only had one little daughter. This 220 years old peerage can only be inherited by males, but skipping one female generation is tolerated. However a distant heir was found, the deceased Baron's oldest sister Lady Eva Maria had married to the Lord of Prome, and their daughter Julia had married to the Duke of Rossie, who in Year 173 had a 3 years old son, Jarret Ross. As long as a successor is born and alive, age is no issue and a peerage might simply be operated to a minimum until the new Peer can be crowned at age of 25 (the youngest possible age of coronation).

Jarret Ross, Duke of Rossie.

Verde is the old name used for the Oasis Springs district, which House von Donnersmalt reigned for 168 years. This family spread widely, and they were also strongly tied to the Royal family - House de Froux. Princess Emergale, daughter of King Baltazar II of SimNation, married to the 2nd Baron of Verde, Victor August von Donnersmalt - indicating how important the Verde peerage actually was. Their son, Wizar Colin, became the next King of Sim Nation, as House de Froux expired. The House von Donnersmalt's full family story will be told in a future blog article.

Javiar von Donnersmalt was the 4th (and last) Baron of Verde, and they were all successful not the least at war. Their mansion Yuma Heights is still Oasis Springs' largest build by far. With the distant successor located at the Rossie dukedom, a new family was introduced to Oasis Springs. Not without protests, but things like this happen and the opposition muted eventually. Yuma Heights was still owned by the Verde Trust, and because the new Baron resided far away, the grand estate was let to gardeners who helped tending the traditional lemon produce.

Malcolm Landgraab, Lord Cacti.

The situation was seen as well arranged, until Malcolm Landgraab - neighbor to Yuma Heights, last year questioned the heritage. He brought up the possibility that the Council, who had examined successors - a job that the Royal Chamber did in the past - did a poor job. Malcolm Landgraab, current Lord Cacti, descends from the von Donnersmalt family as well as the Royal family. His late father was Geoffrey (von Donnersmalt) Landgraab, Lord Cacti.

The Cacti title was introduced in Year 121 as result of the Revolution. It was given to Princess Ann Caramelle von Donnersmalt, daughter of the mentioned King Wizar, and her only son was Geoffrey (born Y123), Malcolm Landgraab's father.

This year Landgraab's lawyers took the case to court, claiming Malcolm Landgraab to be in line of successors to the Barony of Verde, while Jarret Ross of Rossie was accused for not being a legit heir. According to the lawyers, and approved by the Judge, the Council did not take into consideration that there were two following female generations between Jarret Ross and the deceased Baron, while it is only legit to skip one female generation. In other words, the lawyers have already proven that Jarret Ross, who today is the Duke of Rossie, is not a legit heir to the Barony of Verde! This alone is quite the scandal, as his family has already remotely operated the barony for 50 years!

Some would say that because cases regarding peerages get sealed after 40 years, the current reopening of the case should never have been accepted despite the obvious mistake done 50 years ago. Nevertheless, the Duke of Rossie has already officially accepted that the case can be reopened, while the Council, who made the mistake, insists on not making further changes.

The Region 12 Court House is set to handle the case shortly.