A bruising court fight over a house, high-end cars and piles of cash has cracked open one of Charlotte’s most recognizable political families. State Rep. Tricia Cotham, acting under power of attorney for her father, retired forklift executive John Cotham, has asked a Gaston County judge to throw out a cohabitation agreement she says shifted a Cramerton home, three luxury sports cars and large sums of money to longtime companion Kaye Yaffe. Yaffe, who received the assets, has fired back with counterclaims and flatly denies any wrongdoing.
According to The Charlotte Observer, hundreds of pages of filings in the civil case accuse Yaffe of manipulating the 75-year-old Cotham into signing documents on April 8, 2025. Those papers allegedly transferred to her the deed to a Cramerton home valued at roughly $1 million and directed that his 2024 Corvette, a 2016 Porsche and a 2019 Ferrari be turned over as well. The suit also points to a $500,000 transfer into an account in Yaffe’s name and levels accusations of fraud, elder abuse and adultery as part of what the Cothams say was a pattern that enriched her. Yaffe’s attorney, Joe Karam, has said the allegations are “categorically denied.”
The family drama comes with a heavy political backdrop. Pat Cotham, Tricia’s mother, is a former longtime Mecklenburg County commissioner, and Tricia herself grabbed national headlines when she switched parties from Democrat to Republican in April 2023. WFAE chronicled the uproar over that party flip and the protests that followed. Now, her role as her father’s power of attorney drops her squarely into the middle of a lawsuit that has become something far bigger than a quiet family estate dispute.
What's at stake
At the heart of the case are both pricey and deeply personal assets: the Cramerton residence, three high-end sports cars, bank accounts the family says were newly opened to Yaffe, antiques and a storage unit stocked with Chihuly glass pieces worth thousands of dollars. The Cothams say they moved quickly to freeze John’s bank accounts after discovering the transfers and are asking the court to unwind the deals and send the property back. Yaffe’s counterclaims push back hard, arguing the documents spelled out a consensual arrangement between longtime partners, not a financial ambush.
Legal timeline and next steps
In August, the case was tagged “exceptional,” and Chief Justice Paul Newby assigned Superior Court Senior Resident Judge David A. Phillips to preside. In a statement to The Charlotte Observer, the Cothams’ attorney, Josh Durham, said, “We are confident the judicial process will provide the answers our clients are looking for.”
A temporary restraining order now blocks Yaffe from altering or transferring any of the disputed property. She has until Tuesday to turn over documents and allow inspections requested by the Cothams’ legal team, a sign that the fight is shifting into a grind-it-out discovery phase. So far, no trial date has been set.
Business and family background
John Cotham co-founded Carolina Industrial Trucks, a Charlotte-based forklift dealer that has maintained multiple locations and a visible footprint in the region for decades. That business presence, along with public records showing political contributions tied to the family, helps explain why the case carries financial and political weight across the area. The company’s local offices and customer-facing operations have long put the Cotham name in front of Charlotte businesses and voters alike.
Political fallout and community reaction
Pat Cotham is not named as a party in the lawsuit, but court filings repeatedly reference the wider family, fueling attention because of their public roles. Campaign finance records show John Cotham has donated to Tricia’s campaigns, adding extra scrutiny to what might otherwise register as a private, probate-style fight.
As discovery unfolds, neighbors and local political watchers are looking to see whether the judge ultimately voids the agreements and reels back the assets. With next Tuesday’s document-production deadline looming, the legal battle is settling into procedural territory, but the core stakes have not budged: who controls substantial local property and how this very public clash reshapes the reputation of a prominent Charlotte family.
