A year ago, Rupert Murdoch resolved the long-running fight over which of his children would control his sprawling media empire, ending a bitter legal battle and anointing his eldest son, Lachlan, as his successor.

Now, court documents have offered a rare glimpse into the family’s clashes before the decision, revealing the patriarch’s view of son James as a troublemaker who had to be ousted from the business and detailing tensions between Murdoch’s four eldest children and their airing of “petty grievances” about their father.