The messy fight to see who really owns Elvis' Graceland is over

ggoodwin@businessinsider.com (Grace Eliza Goodwin,Joshua Zitser)
·3 min read
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side-by-side of Graceland mansion and Riley Keough
Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion and his granddaughter Riley Keough.GAB Archive/Redferns, Jerod Harris via Getty Images

  • A company had claimed it owned the rights to Graceland and planned to auction it.

  • Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough accused the company of fraud and forging documents.

  • The company said it would withdraw its claim just hours after a judge ruled in Keough's favor.

A bizarre legal battle over who actually owns Elvis Presley's Graceland estate came to an end on Wednesday, leaving the iconic site in the hands of the King of Rock and Roll's family.

A company that claimed it owned the deed to Graceland has now said it'll withdraw its claim on the estate, the Associated Press reported.

Hours earlier, a Tennessee court had ruled in favor of Elvis' granddaughter, the actor Riley Keough, who had been fighting to keep the property.

Keough became the owner of the 13.8-acre Memphis property and trustee of Promenade Trust, which operates the estate, after her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, died in January 2023.

The saga started when a company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending said it owned the deed to the property and announced plans last week to auction it off.

The company said that Lisa Marie Presley had taken out a $3.8 million dollar loan from Naussany, using the estate as collateral. Naussany argued that it had the right to sell the property for repayment after Presley never paid the firm back.

But Keough sued Naussany, accusing the creditor of forging the signatures that purportedly gave it the deed to Graceland.

"While the documents bear signatures that look like the signatures of Lisa Marie Presley, Lisa Marie Presley did not, in fact, sign the documents," the lawsuit says.

"These documents are fraudulent," Keough's lawsuit said. "Lisa Marie Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments."

The lawsuit also argues that Naussany isn't a real company.

"Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC appears to be a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding the Promenade Trust, the heirs of Lisa Marie Presley, or any purchaser of Graceland at a non-judicial sale," the suit continues.

Naussany said in an email to the AP that it would be "withdrawing all claims with prejudice." Naussany told the AP that it was dropping the case because the loan and another critical document had been filed in a different state, meaning the company would have to take legal action in multiple states.

"As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims," a spokesperson for Graceland told Business Insider. "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."

Lawyers for Keough declined to comment on the situation.

BI wasn't able to reach Naussany Investments.

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