Elvis Presley's widow, Priscilla, has responded to a high-profile lawsuit filed by former business partners who accuse her of allegedly "pulling the plug" on her daughter Lisa Marie's life support to regain control of her late husband's estate. Priscilla calls the claims "baseless," emphasizing that it is an attempt to discredit her due to old disputes.
This is reported by UNN with reference to DailyMail.
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The 80-year-old widow of Elvis is in court against former business partners Bridgette Kruse and Kevin Fialko. According to them, Priscilla "conceived" a fraudulent scheme and used Lisa Marie's death in 2023.
A scandalous lawsuit was filed on Monday, alleging that Priscilla Presley allegedly "pulled the plug" on her daughter Lisa Marie's life support after a cardiac arrest in January 2023.
The plaintiffs called Presley an "opportunist" who "clung" to Lisa Marie as the sole heir to Elvis's estate and ignored her daughter's healthcare directive.
According to the plaintiffs, Priscilla "ultimately wanted to control" Lisa's trust and Graceland. At the same time, Lisa Marie "had no desire to see or be near" her mother in any way before the 2023 Golden Globe ceremony, which took place two days before her death.
Most importantly, Priscilla knew that Lisa was preparing to remove her as the sole trustee of Lisa's irrevocable life insurance trust, and otherwise threatened to sue her
Kruse and Fialko, executives of Priscilla Presley Partners, allegedly "worked to keep the family together," and Presley and Lisa Marie later walked the red carpet together.
The lawsuit also alleges that a "visibly ill" Lisa Marie complained to Presley about her health, but the latter allegedly "ignored warning signs" and went with her to the "Chateau Marmont" for a drink.
It is noted that Lisa's "extended medical care directive" from 2010, where she asked to prolong life as long as possible, was allegedly ignored.
The lawsuit also states that Presley "pulled the plug within hours of Lisa's hospitalization and before her granddaughter Riley Keough could get to the hospital."
Lisa Marie died of a small bowel obstruction caused by a previous weight-loss surgery.
Priscilla knew that Lisa's death neutralized the threat of Lisa's attempts to remove Priscilla as the sole trustee of Lisa's irrevocable life insurance trust, and Priscilla ultimately wanted to control the Promenade Trust and Graceland
The plaintiffs add that "the following week at her home (before Lisa's funeral) Priscilla exclaimed: 'I am the queen. I rule Graceland.'"
Two weeks after Lisa's death, Priscilla challenged her daughter's will, which transferred control of the Promenade Trust to her granddaughter Keough. She challenged a 2016 amendment that removed her and former business manager Barry Siegel and appointed Keough and the late Benjamin as co-trustees. The issue was resolved five months later.
Presley's counter-accusations against former business partnersPresley claims she was forced to sign over 20 different agreements during a 27-minute meeting at Kruse's house, whom she had never seen before. Among other accusations:
- Kruse demanded that Presley give up her mobile phone and conduct all communication through her;
- All of Presley's bank accounts were closed, and new ones were opened with joint signatories;
- Kruse and associates received over two-thirds of the revenue from the deal (almost $300,000) and over $120,000 in "commissions" for the film "Priscilla";
- Presley was forced to deliver valuable property and financial documents to Florida, and then was charged over $30,000 for their storage;
- Kruse and associates planned to raise their public profile by gaining the right to attend the memorial service;
- when Priscilla learned about the fraud, she closed Kruse and associates' bank accounts, which had less than three thousand dollars remaining.
Kruse and Fialko claim they "worked tirelessly" to secure $2.4 million for Presley and a seven-figure sum for her son Navarone, but were fired before the final agreement was reached and were not compensated.
Priscilla's lawyer Marty Singer commented to Daily Mail:
This is undoubtedly one of the most disgraceful, absurd, lavish, and baseless lawsuits I have seen in my practice. This is nothing more than a sad and insidious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty-year-old woman in blatant revenge for filing a lawsuit against Bridgette Kruse, Kevin Fialko, and their associates
He added that Kruse and her associates had hired different lawyers for the fourth time in this dispute, and "this is a disgusting PR stunt," as evidenced by the fact that the complaint and press release were sent to the press even before the documents were served in court.
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