Riley Keough’s legal battle over Graceland is apparently over.
After a Tennessee judge on May 22 temporarily barred Naussany Investments and Private Lending from selling Elvis Presley’s former home through foreclosure, the company said it would withdraw its claim.
The dispute stems from a $3.8 million loan that lender Lisa Marie Presley, Keough’s late mother, took out in 2018 using Graceland as collateral and never repaid. Keough filed a lawsuit against the company on May 20 after it advertised a foreclosure auction of Elvis Presley’s home to take place on May 23. She claimed the sale was fraudulent and that her late mother’s signature on the loan documents was forged.
The Tennessee Attorney General is investigating Naussany Investments to determine whether misconduct occurred.
🚨What just happened?
Keough, the sole administrator of her grandfather Elvis Presley’s estate in Memphis after her mother’s death in 2023, won a legal victory on May 22 when Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued the temporary injunction halting the auction.
Hours later, an attorney for Keough received “an email from Gregory Naussany confirming that they did not intend to move forward with their claim,” a Graceland representative told People magazine.
Naussany Investments emailed a statement to the Associated Press saying the company would not proceed further because a key document in the case and the loan had been registered and obtained in another state, so “legal action would have to be filed in multiple states .” As a result, “the company will withdraw all claims with prejudice.”
Naussany said in an email to the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “No harm was intended against Ms. Keough.”
The attempted lockout is now under investigation by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office.
“I have asked my attorneys to investigate this matter, determine the full extent of any wrongdoing, and determine what we can do to protect both Elvis Presley’s heirs and anyone else who may be similarly threatened,” he said. him in a speech. statement on May 23.
Keough said in her legal filing last week that her mother “never borrowed any money from Naussany Investments” nor did she give the company a deed of trust for Graceland. She claimed that the company “is not a real entity” but “was created for the purpose of defrauding Keough’s (formerly Lisa Marie’s) Promenade Trust.”
The Daisy Jones and the Six actress alleged that her mother’s signature on the alleged loan documents was forged. The notary listed as a witness on the loan, Kimberly Philbrick, said she never met Lisa Marie Presley or notarized any documents for her. Keough’s filing alleged that the “individuals involved in creating such documents are presumptively guilty of the crime of forgery.”
Elvis Presley Enterprises – the corporate entity that runs Graceland – supported Keough’s claims that the auction was fraudulent. “There is no foreclosure. Simply put, a countersuit has been filed to stop the fraud.”
Priscilla Presley, Elvis’ former wife and Keough’s grandmother, considered it a “scam.”
↩️ How we got here
Last summer, Keough gained control of the Graceland home, Elvis’ assets and 15% of Elvis Presley Enterprises following the sudden death of her mother and her brief legal battle with Priscilla.
In September, Naussany Investments and Private Lending 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 contact 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% 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 Christmas special she produced.
As sole trustee, Keough also manages the 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 23, 2024 5:22 PM ET: This story has been updated to reflect that Naussany Investments has withdrawn its claims and is now under investigation.
