Looks like the Elvis trust issues aren’t as over as we thought they were. Heir Riley Keough, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, is suing Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC over a proposed foreclosure auction Graceland, citing “fraudulent,†and allegedly forged, agreements. A judge delayed the sale on May 22, a day before the slated auction, in the latest update on Keough’s battle to save Graceland.
Keough calls deed theft
May 20, 2024: Riley Keough will not lose Graceland without battling it out in court. A Tennessee judge granted Presley’s heir a temporary restraining order blocking a proposed foreclosure sale of the rock-and-roll giant’s Memphis estate on May 20, scheduling a hearing for the day before the proposed May 23 sale, the Guardian reports. Keough first filed the legal complaint against Naussany Investments & Private Lending on May 15, claiming the company is attempting “a non-judicial sale†of the famed property based on “fraudulent and unenforceable†unpaid loans, according to the suit. It even alleges that the documents “purporting to evidence such a loan … are forgeries.†Keough argues the company allegedly forged signatures to make it look as though the late Lisa Marie Presley, her mother, took out loans with Graceland as security. The loans, Keough claims, never existed in the first place. The private investment company claims in its own lawsuit that Lisa Marie died with an outstanding $3.8 million loan that used Graceland as collateral.
A judge delays the sale to figure out what’s going on
May 22, 2024, 12:45 p.m.: Graceland will not be put up for sale (for now, at least). A Tennessee judge blocked the foreclosure auction of the sprawling estate and tourist attraction on May 22, ruling that it’s in the public’s best interest to slow any proposed ownership change of the “well-loved†property, NBC News reports. Presiding over the case is Chancellor JoeDae L. Jenkins, who even said that Keough could win her fraud claims if she coughs up the evidence. “It appears that you, Mr. Germany, your client will be successful on the merits … providing that you prove the fraud that has been alleged,†he told Keough’s attorney, Jeff Germany, in court. “Mr. Naussany will not be harmed … by delaying the trial on this matter until we can have adequate discovery and allow them to file an answer and provide a defense to the claim that he’s made,†Jenkins said, per NBC.
Naussany has apparently left the building
May 22, 2024, 6:40 p.m.: Shortly after the judge ruled in Keough’s favor, the Associated Press obtained a statement from someone appearing to be a representative from Naussany. It said Naussany would drop its claim because a key document in the claim was obtained in a different state than the loan, and that would mean “legal action would have to be filed in multiple states.†Although court documents do not yet reflect that the case has been dropped, the statement says “The company will be withdrawing all claims with prejudice.â€