More than eight years after Prince’s death, and nearly two years after the long legal battle over his estate seemed to be over, a new lawsuit over control of half of the artist’s estate is about to head to court.
It all started this January, when, after 18 months of no litigation, Prince’s former attorney L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. — who together represent three of the singer’s six relatives (and estates) — filed a lawsuit against four members of Prince’s family over control of a company, formed in 2022, that controls 50% of the artist’s estate. (The remainder, previously held by three of the estates, was sold shortly after Prince’s death to the band Primary Wave and is unaffected by the latest litigation.) Among the people sued is Sharon Nelson, Prince’s half-sister, who was represented by McMillan and Spicer in the early stages of the legal dispute.
At the beginning of the year, the heirs reacted immediately, asking that the lawsuit be thrown out. This Friday, however, a judge in Delaware (where McMillan and Spicer filed their claims) denied that request, thus paving the way for a new legal battle for Prince's inheritance. Who, let's remember, passed away in 2016 without leaving a will: his inheritance was therefore divided equally between his six brothers and sisters (including half-brothers and half-sisters), two of whom have died since the beginning of the disputes that seem to drag on forever.
In their lawsuit, McMillan and Spicer allege that Sharon Nelson attempted to bar the two lawyers from their administrative duties related to the operations of Prince Legacy LLC, which was formed in 2022 after Prince’s estate was valued at $156 million — a move that was supposed to put an end to the legal wrangling surrounding the matter. McMillan said in 2022, “It’s been a really long six years.”
However, the new lawsuit claims that Nelson was not satisfied with the agreement reached, and that she therefore sought to take control of the company by amending the agreement to remove McMillan and Spicer (who had been appointed as directors of Prince Legacy). As reported by The Associated Pressthe same judge said he was in solidarity with the claims of the prosecution (therefore of McMillan and Spicer), underlining that Nelson did not have the authority to modify the company's bylaws without different authorization.
Nelson also allegedly attempted to take control of Paisley Park, Prince’s former residence now a museum, according to the indictment. McMillan and Spicer write that she “sought, unsuccessfully, to replace the entire staff of Paisley Park with individuals of her choosing in order to take control of the facility.”
The defense also includes Prince's half-sister Norrine Nelson, niece Breanna Nelson and nephew Allen Nelson.
From Rolling Stone US