Samuel P. "Pat" Black III has agreed to undergo a forensic neurological examination to help determine his mental competency — a key development in the 84-year-old Erie entrepreneur's protracted litigation against his adopted daughter over his fading business empire.

The daughter, Sumi James-Black, 51, had asked a judge in Erie County Orphans' Court to undergo the exam to help determine whether Black is mentally fit to pursue the litigation and whether the judge should appoint a guardian to manage his financial affairs.

The hearing on the request was set for March 26 before Judge Joseph M. Walsh III. Before the hearing started, the lawyers for Black and James-Black said they had reached an agreement for Black to get examined.

"We have agreed to a proper medical exam to determine his mental competency," John Mizner, the lead lawyer for James-Black, told Walsh as Black and James-Black looked on from separate sections of the courtroom.

Mizner and the lawyers for Black said they would review names of professionals who would evaluate Black. That person will file a report with Walsh.

James-Black based request on evidence of decline

James-Black had petitioned Walsh to order an exam for her adoptive father based on what she said is evidence of his mental decline in activities of daily living, or ADLs. Black's lawyers had resisted the request and said it was meant to delay the litigation against James-Black.

Mizner after the hearing said he was glad for the agreement.

"Ms. James Black is pleased her father agreed to undergo a forensic competency examination, given that his own doctor recommended it after documenting 'concerns about noticeable decline in memory and ADLs' with Mr. Black beginning back in the summer of 2022," Mizner said in a statement.

A lawyer for Black, Anthony Angelone, declined to comment.

Exam only part of process to determine competency

Black's agreement to undergo the exam does not mean Walsh will find him mentally incompetent. Walsh before making that decision would have to review the results of the exam and hold a hearing if necessary.

Black adopted James-Black in 2019, when he was 77 and she was 44. He later named her his heir apparent to run his business empire, including the Hero BX biofuels plant on East Lake Road in Erie. The relationship collapsed when Black fired James-Black in August 2022 as the interim CEO and chief operating officer of Black's Erie Management Group. Black claimed he fired James-Black after finding out that she defrauded him — claims James-Black denies.

Black went on to pursue in his most notable case against James-Black ― the suit he filed in 2024 in which he claims James-Black and two other defendants, including the Erie law firm of Knox, McLaughlin, Gornall & Sennett, formed a civil conspiracy to defraud him of $200 million from 2017-22.

Black sought to litigate that case in U.S. District Court in Erie based on claims that James-Black and the other defendants committed civil violations under the  Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the 1970 federal law designed to fight organized crime.

The defendants denied the claims. U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter dismissed the RICO case in February. Black is appealing the decision to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

The RICO case is one of several legal actions between Black and James-Black and entities connected to Black. Most of that litigation has been put on hold pending a ruling on Black's mental competency.

Original Article by: Ed Palattella at epalattella@usatodayco.com or 814-870-1813.