Nearly eight years after Prince’s death, his heirs have gone to court with two former associates of the artist in the latest round of the long, expensive and complex battle over control over his estate.
The lawsuit, made public Wednesday in Delaware court, pits four of the artist’s heirs against two of his former business associates in a fight over control of Prince Legacy LLC. That entity is one of two holding companies created in 2022 to run the late artist’s $156 million estate. Primary Wave, which owns the other half of the estate outright, is not involved in the dispute; the lawsuit was first reported by Billboard.
The process of settling Prince’s estate has been marred by legal battles nearly every step of the way, largely because he died in 2016 without leaving a will — a tragic irony for an artist who had fought tenaciously for control of the rights to his music.
The estate has released several boxed sets loaded with unreleased material from Prince’s vast vault, most recently a sprawling collection from “Diamonds and Pearls,” the artist’s final album to top the Billboard 200 during his lifetime. Sources tell Variety this lawsuit should not complicate plans for further release, which were held up for several months before the estate moved out of probate court in 2022.
This latest lawsuit, obtained by Variety, was filed by L. Londell McMillan, who briefly managed Prince during the 1990s, and Charles Spicer over allegations that four of Prince’s family members have been trying to edge them out of the Prince Legacy LLC company. They claim the effort violates a prior agreement and would cause massive damage to efforts “to preserve and protect Prince’s legacy.”
McMillan and Spicer allege that “the Individual defendants lack any business and management experience, have no experience in the music and entertainment industries, and have no experience negotiating and managing high-level deals in the entertainment industry,” they wrote in the complaint. “Their interference and intervention will make it impossible to carry on the business of Prince Legacy and will cause irreparable harm to the Company’s good will, existing relationships, and revenue streams.”
The lawsuit names Prince’s half-sisters Sharon Nelson and Norrine Nelson, as well as his niece Breanna Nelson and his nephew Allen Nelson, none of whom immediately responded to requests for comment.
Six of Prince’s half-siblings were determined as heirs, three of whom later sold their interests to Primary Wave. In August of 2022, the estate was finally divided evenly between Prince Legacy (owned by McMillan, Spicer and the remaining heirs) and Prince Oat Holdings, owned by Primary Wave.
Among the many claims in the lawsuit, McMillan and Spicer allege that Sharon and Breanna attempted to sell their shares in the holding company to Primary Wave, which they claim could not be made without the consent of all of its members, and then attempted to change its bylaws in order to advance such a sale.
They also allege that “Sharon sought (unsuccessfully) to replace the entire staff of Paisley Park with individuals of her choosing and take charge of Paisley Park,” referring to the artist’s expansive studio-residence. “Her demands for lavish events held at Paisley Park at the expense of Paisley Park were likewise rejected.” They also claim that Breanna tried to “appoint her son as an intern of Paisley Park in the marketing department” and make other major hires without consulting the company.
Variety will have more on the situation as it continues to evolve.
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