Judge halts Graceland foreclosure auction as legal battle heats up
A Tennessee court has halted the Thursday sale of Elvis Presley's historic Graceland mansion.
Chancellor JoeDae L. Jenkins said at an injunction hearing at Shelby County Tennessee Chancery Court on Wednesday morning that the proposed auctioning of the property on Thursday will not go ahead after the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend's granddaughter claimed documents pertaining to the case were fraudulent.
The judge said he considered the real estate unique to the state and that there must be time for adequate discovery, and for the defense to address claims made about the potential sale.
The judge noted that this matter is of public interest, and that Graceland is part of the community and is well-loved.
A company claims that Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis’s only child, took out a $3.8 million loan but never paid it back having put the estate up as collateral via a signed Deed of Trust in 2018.
The company, called Naussany Investments and Private Lending, claims Lisa Marie never paid back that money before she died last year and the firm initiated plans for Elvis' former home in Memphis, as well as its surrounding acreage on Elvis Presley Boulevard, to be sold to the highest bidder at a foreclosure sale.
Elvis’ granddaughter, Riley Keough, is the sole heir to the property and has asked a court for an injunction preventing the sale, which was initially scheduled to go ahead Thursday.
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Keough says that the lawsuit is all a scam, with forged documents and a fake shell company making the claim.
The mansion, which is now a museum, is located in the Whitehaven area of Memphis.
Keough said in a 60-page lawsuit against Naussany Investments that her mother never borrowed any money from the company and that Presley’s signatures on the deed are forgeries. Keough also alleges that Naussany Investments is not a real entity.
"These documents are fraudulent," the lawsuit states.
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Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie’s mother and Elvis’ ex-wife, blasted the legal notice on social media earlier this week. "It’s a scam," she wrote on X.
Elvis Presley bought the mansion in 1957 for $102,500 and lived there until his death in 1977.
Lisa Marie inherited Graceland after her father’s death, and it was opened to the public as a museum in 1982. It features costumes, artifacts and personal mementos from Elvis and his family.
The property also displays a Convair 880 Jet called "Lisa Marie" that Elvis used in his heyday.
The grounds of Graceland now include a resort hotel and a chapel, according to the home's website.
It was designated as a National Historic landmark in March 2006. In 1991, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
About 600,000 tourists visit the property each year, according to the property's website. Graceland generates $150 million in overall economic impact to the City of Memphis.
Lisa Marie Presley died in January 2023 due to a small bowel obstruction, according to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner's office. Keough became heir to the estate and trustee of the Promenade Trust.
Elvis and Lisa Marie are buried on the property.
"Visitors flock to Graceland to feel connected to an icon whose life still remains shrouded in mystery," Priscilla Presley previously said, according to Architectural Digest.
Fox News' Samantha Daigle contributed to this report.