Judge Orders Pause on Foreclosure Sale of Elvis Presley’s Graceland Amid Riley Keough’s Lawsuit
A foreclosure sale of Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion has been paused, per a Memphis judge.
Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins ruled on Wednesday, May 22, that the upcoming Shelby County auction of the residence and its surrounding property needs to be halted, according to the New York Post. The judge found that local officials hadn’t received the proper paperwork to proceed with the sale.
An auction of the property was scheduled for Thursday, May 23.
A rep for Elvis Presley Enterprises has since released a statement on the court ruling.
Inside Graceland: Everything to Know About the Former Home of Elvis Presley and His Family
“As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims,” a spokesperson told Us Weekly on Wednesday. “There will be no foreclosure. Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best in class experience when visiting his iconic home.”
Graceland was purchased by Presley in 1957 one year after his music career skyrocketed. He lived in the mansion with then-wife Priscilla Presley, whom he split from in 1972, and their daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. Elvis died in 1977 at the age of 42 with ownership then being passed down to Lisa Marie. After Lisa Marie died at the age of 53 in January 2023, her daughters were granted control of the estate. (Lisa Marie had four kids. She shared Riley Keough, 34, and the late Benjamin Keough with ex-husband Danny Keough. She also shared 15-year-old twins Harper and Finley Lockwood with ex-husband Michael Lockwood.)
Us confirmed that Riley had filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the company attempting to put Graceland up for auction. The firm had initially claimed that the Promenade Trust, which oversees the iconic mansion, owes $3.8 million to Naussany Investments and Private Lending after neglecting to pay back a 6-year-old loan. The Daisy Jones & The Six star had alleged that Naussany’s documents about Lisa Marie’s loan details were “fraudulent.”
“Lisa Marie never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments,” Riley claimed in her filing.
Riley obtained a temporary restraining order on Monday, May 20, that would delay Thursday’s auction. The TRO was granted ahead of Wednesday’s injunction hearing.
Riley is the sole trustee of Graceland and also presides over sub-trusts designated to her younger twin sisters. Riley’s appointment was named in Lisa Marie’s January 2023 will, which Priscilla, 78, initially contested. Priscilla, Riley’s maternal grandmother, had alleged that a 2016 legal amendment naming Riley and her brother as Lisa Marie’s estate trustees was forged. Riley and Priscilla settled the case in May 2023 with the Dallas alum receiving a one-time lump sum of $1 million from the account.
“Riley and Priscilla are at peace in their relationship after the very stressful ordeal over Lisa Marie’s trust and estate,” a source exclusively told Us later that month. “There was a lot of back and forth, but they reached a middle ground that makes them both happy.”
Priscilla has since gushed about how Riley will run the estate.
“I think Riley will be great,” Priscilla said during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored in November 2023. “She has asked me a few things about what to do and we’ll talk about, like, I want to help her with Graceland. I mean, she has her own career as well and [is] doing so well.”
Solve the daily Crossword
