Priscilla Presley accused of pulling daughter Lisa Marie's life-support in bombshell new lawsuit

News.com.au

a day ago

Priscilla Presley's former business partners have sensationally accused her of pulling her daughter Lisa Marie Presley's life-support in a bid to get control of her family name, according to a bombshell new lawsuit.
Lisa Marie, the daughter of Priscilla and late rock and roll legend Elvis Presley, died in Jan. 2023 after she went into cardiac arrest in her California home. She was 54.
According to documents obtained by The Post, Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, the heads of Priscilla Presley Partners, claim the 80-year-old 'ultimately wanted to control' her daughter's trust and Graceland — the iconic Memphis mansion that once belonged to the legendary crooner.
Kruse and Fialko are suing Priscilla, who was married to Elvis from 1967 to 1973, for breach of contract and fraud. They are seeking at least $50 million.
Priscilla is accused of being aware that Lisa Marie was preparing to remove her as the sole head of her trust and 'pulled the plug within hours of Lisa being admitted' to the hospital.
'Priscilla knew that Lisa's death neutralised the threat of Lisa's efforts to have Priscilla removed as the sole trustee of Lisa's irrevocable life insurance trust, and Priscilla ultimately wanted to control the Promenade Trust and Graceland,' the lawsuit alleges.
'At her house the following week, Priscilla allegedly exclaimed, 'I'm the queen. I'm in charge of Graceland.''
In response, Priscilla's lawyer, Marty Singer, slammed the filing as 'one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious, and meritless' lawsuits he had ever seen.
'This is nothing more than a sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty-year-old woman in blatant retaliation for bringing a lawsuit to redress the wrongful conduct of Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, and their co-conspirators,' Singer told The Post in a statement.
'Accusing a grieving mother of contributing to her daughter's death is not savvy advocacy; it is malicious character assassination, and should be broadly condemned. These fabricated claims have absolutely no validity and we are confident this case will be dismissed,' Singer added.
Last year, Priscilla filed a lawsuit claiming she was a victim of financial abuse — alleging that Kruse, among others, took advantage her and stole $1 million.
After Priscilla and the Hound Dog crooner parted ways in 1973, the lawsuit claims 'she was supposed to stop using the surname 'Presley'' per the divorce agreement.
Years after Elvis' death, Lisa Marie — his only child — came into her inheritance in 1993. The lawsuit notes that the estate was valued at around $100 million at the time.
The suit further alleges that Priscilla filed a petition to challenge a 2016 amendment to the trust following Lisa Marie's death.
At the time, the trust had removed Priscilla as a trustee and instead listed Lisa Marie's daughter, Riley Keough, and son Benjamin Keough, who died in 2020, as co-trustees.
In 2023, following her mother's untimely death, the Daisy Jones and the Six actress, 36, was granted sole ownership of the estate following a lengthy legal dispute with Priscilla.
In the lead-up to her death, Lisa Marie had a 'tumultuous and tenuous' relationship with her mum, with the legendary crooner's daughter even 'threatening to sue' Priscilla over the trust dispute, Kruse and Fialko allege in their filing.
The duo claims that they 'worked to keep the family together.'
An official autopsy report noted that there was 'no evidence of injury or foul play' in her death, adding that the 'manner of death is deemed natural.'
'The obstruction was in the form of a strangulated small bowel caused by adhesions that developed after bariatric surgery years ago,' the LA County medical examiner said at the time. 'This is a known long-term complication of this type of surgery.'
Kruse and Fialko further alleged that Priscilla didn't adhere to her daughter's wishes of having her life 'prolonged as long as possible within the limits of generally accepted health care standards.'
Elsewhere in the filing, the duo said they brokered a deal with Keough on behalf of Priscilla. They said the deal gave Priscilla a $2.4 million payout and 'a seven-figure deal for Priscilla's son, Navarone.'
'The evidence will establish that the real victims here are my clients, who invested millions and years of hard work into revitalising Priscilla Presley's brand, only to be betrayed and falsely accused once the money was on the table and every personal and business issue had been resolved,' Jordan Matthews, an lawyer for Kruse and Fialko, said in a statement.
The 54-year-old only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley died suddenly on Jan. 12, 2023, hours after she was hospitalised in critical condition after reportedly suffering a cardiac arrest at her Calabasas home.
She was in an induced coma and on life support with a temporary pacemaker.
Lisa Marie shared her daughter Riley, 36, and her late son Benjamin, with Danny Keough. She was married to Keough from 1988 to 1994.
The late singer shared her 16-year-old twins, Finley and Harper, with ex-husband Michael Lockwood. The pair were married for a decade after tying the knot in 2006.