Riley Keough has received some good news in her legal battle to stop the foreclosure sale of Graceland.
A Tennessee judge on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction against the auction scheduled for Thursday. This freezes the sale of the estate until a hearing takes place to determine the rightful owner.
🚨What just happened?
The Daisy Jones and the Six actress, who became the sole administrator of her grandfather Elvis Presley’s Memphis estate after the 2023 death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, scored a legal victory (for now) when Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued the temporary injunction Wednesday morning.
The order means that Naussany Investments & Private Lending, which was auctioning the house, had to cancel the sale. Naussany had claimed that the auction was to raise an unpaid $3.8 million loan that Lisa Marie took out in 2018 using Graceland as collateral.
Neither Keough nor legal representatives of Naussany Investments were present in the courtroom.
Keough filed a civil lawsuit last week to stop the company from auctioning off the tourist destination, saying the sale is “fraudulent.” She said her mother “never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments.”
In the filing, Keough asked the court to issue a restraining order against the creditor, “or any party acting in concert,” to block “any out-of-court sale of the property.” She claimed the company “is not a real entity” and was “established for the purpose of defrauding Keough’s (formerly Lisa Marie’s) Promenade Trust.” Furthermore, Keough claims that Lisa Marie’s signature on the alleged loan documents was forged, and that the notary listed as a witness says they never met Lisa Marie.
“The note and deed of trust are fraudulent and unenforceable,” Keough alleged in the lawsuit. She said that “the persons involved in the preparation of such documents are presumed guilty of the crime of forgery.”
Elvis Presley Enterprises – the corporate entity that runs Graceland – has backed Keough’s claims that it is “fraudulent.” There will be no foreclosure sale. Simply put, a countersuit has been filed to stop the fraud.”
Priscilla PresleyElvis’s former wife and Keough’s grandmother, also considers it a “scam.”
↩️ How we got here
Last summer, Keough gained control of the Graceland home, Elvis’ assets and 15 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises following the sudden death of her mother and her brief legal battle with Priscilla.
In September, Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC sued the estate, claiming Lisa Marie defaulted on the loan, which was due in May 2022. The company claimed it had no contact with Lisa Marie after March 2022 and that attempts to reach her were unsuccessful. Naussany Investments said it would drop the lawsuit if the estate paid 75% percent of the debt, or about $2.85 million, within 45 days.
Lisa Marie had financial problems during her life. She inherited her father’s estate, worth an estimated $100 million, when she was 25. Failed business deals and overspending led to her selling 85 percent of her stake in Elvis Presley Enterprises in 2005. (She later sued her former business manager Barry Siegel, claiming he mismanaged the estate.) In the $114 million sale, Lisa Marie received $50 million in cash, $26 million in stock and $25 million in debt was forgiven. She retained 15 percent of Elvis Presley Enterprises, as well as ownership of Graceland and the original items. Elvis Presley Enterprises changed hands again in 2013, with Lisa Marie retaining her interest.
Lisa Marie was buried last year in Graceland, near her father, grandparents and son Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020. In an interview after her mother’s death, Keough talked about what the estate meant to her and her plans for Graceland, including a December Christmas special she produced.
As sole trustee, Keough also manages the sub-trusts of her two younger siblings, 15-year-old half-sisters Finley and Harper Lockwood, Lisa Marie’s daughters from her marriage to musician Michael Lockwood.
Updated May 22, 2024 11:31 am ET: This story has been updated to reflect that the auction has been blocked.
