A Tennessee court blocked the sale of Elvis Presley’s historic Graceland mansion Thursday.
Chancellor Jorday L. Jenkins said during an injunction hearing Wednesday morning in Tennessee’s Shelby County Trial Court that a sale of the estate scheduled for Thursday will not take place after the rock and roll legend’s granddaughter claims documents related to the lawsuit are fraudulent.
The judge said he believes the property is unique to the state and that he needs proper discovery and time for the defense to address arguments about the sale.
The judge noted that the issue is of public interest and that Graceland is part of the community and widely loved.
Graceland mansion, Elvis Presley on the left, Riley Keough on the right (Getty Images)
One company claims that Elvis’ only child, Lisa Marie, pledged the property as collateral through a deed of trust signed in 2018 and took out a $3.8 million loan that she never repaid.
The company, called Nowsunny Investment and Private Lending, claims Lisa Marie Presley never paid back the money until her death last year, when the company began planning Elvis’ former estate. memphis tennesseeand the land surrounding Elvis Presley Boulevard, will be sold to the highest bidder at a foreclosure auction.
Elvis’ granddaughter Riley Keough is the sole heir to the property and is seeking a court injunction to block the sale, which was originally scheduled for Thursday.
Keogh says the entire lawsuit is a fraud, with false documents and bogus shell companies making the claims.
The house, now a museum, is located in the Whitehaven neighborhood of Memphis.
In her 60-page lawsuit against Nowsunny Investments, Keogh said her mother never borrowed money from the company and that Presley’s signature on the deed was a forgery. Keogh also claims Nowsunny Investments does not exist.
“These documents are fraudulent,” the complaint states.
On this day in history, March 19, 1957, Elvis made his down payment on Graceland.
Lisa Marie Presley was born in February 1968, the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla, and brought to Graceland. (Photo courtesy of Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie’s mother and Elvis’ ex-wife, slammed the legal notice on social media. “This is a scam,” she wrote to X.
Elvis Presley He purchased the mansion in 1957 for $102,500 and lived there until his death in 1977.
After her father’s death, Lisa Marie inherited Graceland, and it opened to the public as a museum in 1982. Costumes, artifacts, and personal memorabilia from Elvis and his family are on display.
The facility also features a Convair 880 jet called the “Lisa Marie” used by Elvis Presley during his heyday.
According to the family’s website, a resort hotel and chapel currently stand on the Graceland property.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark in March 2006. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
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Priscilla Presley and Riley Keough deny claims that Graceland was foreclosed and are fighting back against the legality of the purported sale. (Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images, Warner Bros.)
According to the facility’s website, approximately 600,000 tourists visit the facility each year. Graceland will have an overall economic impact of $150 million for the city of Memphis.
According to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, Lisa Marie Presley died in January 2023 from a small intestinal blockage. Keough became an heir and trustee of the Promenade Trust.
Elvis and his daughter Lisa Marie Presley are buried on this property.
“Visitors flock to Graceland to feel a connection to an icon whose life remains shrouded in mystery,” Priscilla Presley previously told Architectural Digest.
