Riley Keough managed to delay a possible auction of Graceland, the Memphis estate and final resting place of her late grandfather Elvis Presley, and the burial spot for her mother Lisa Marie Presley, and her brother Benjamin Keough.
Riley Keough is back in court.
After spending the better part of last year fighting for control over her late mother's estate, the 34-year-old actress now finds herself fighting to keep control of her late grandfather's former Memphis estate, Graceland.
Keough filed a 61-page complaint last week in Shelby County, Tennessee, seeking injunctive relief and a temporary restraining order after a Missouri company announced it would be auctioning off Graceland on May 23. Naussany Investments purports to have documents showing that Lisa Marie Presley borrowed $3.8 million in 2018 and put up Graceland, the iconic home of her father Elvis Presley, as collateral. The company said that because Lisa Marie died before repaying that debt, they now own Graceland.
In her complaint, Keough alleged that the company produced "fraudulent documents" and forged her mother's signature. She also said that the company further falsified the documents by including the signature of a notary public who in an affidavit included in the complaint, said: “I have never met Lisa Marie Presley, nor have I ever notarized a document signed by Lisa Marie Presley. I do not know why my signature appears on this document.”
Keough also claimed that the company does not appear to be an actual entity and instead was created with the sole intention of defrauding her and her family, noting that Naussany Investments had contacted her lawyer multiple times seeking repayment on a $3.8 million loan she said her mother never received, nor requested from the company.
"On information and belief, Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC is not a real entity. Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC appears to be a false entity created for the purpose of defrauding the Promenade Trust (the trust of Keough and formerly of Lisa Marie Presley), the heirs of Lisa Marie Presley, or any purchaser of Graceland at a non-judicial sale," Keough said in her complaint.
That proved to be enough to convince Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins to issue a temporary injunction on Wednesday halting the sale of Graceland.
This is the latest in a string of legal victories for Keough.
In November, Keough became the sole trustee of her mother’s estate after a Los Angeles County judge approved the settlement agreement between her and grandmother Priscilla Presley. Lisa Marie's oldest daughter is also one of the four beneficiaries set to inherit part of her mother's $25 million life insurance policy, according to legal filings related to the settlement agreement obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Control of Lisa Marie's estate became uncertain for a brief period when Priscilla filed a petition after her daughter’s death questioning the legitimacy of a 2016 amendment to one of Lisa Marie’s trusts that removed her as trustee.
That trust is The Promenade Trust, and it represents the last vestiges of the Elvis Presley estate controlled in full or in part by his family. it includes Graceland mansion, all of Elvis’ personal effects contained in the Graceland archive, and a 15% share in Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. The family had complete ownership of Elvis Enterprises until 2005 when Lisa Marie agreed to sell an 85% share for $97 million in cash, debt relief and stock.
The remaining shares, the famed mansion and Elvis' effects are also now controlled by Keough, with Priscilla agreeing to both step down as trustee and withdraw her petition challenging the authenticity of that 2016 amendment in exchange for payments totaling at least $2.35 million over the next 10 years, according to the settlement agreement.
Most importantly, the approved settlement agreement filed in Los Angeles County Court stated that “Riley agrees to allow Priscilla to be buried upon her death in the Meditation Garden of Graceland. The burial location will be at the location closest to Elvis Presley without moving any existing gravesite.”
Should Graceland be sold at auction, Keough would need to decide what to do with the remains of her mother and grandfather, who are buried there alongside her paternal great-grandparents, her paternal great-great-grandmother and her brother Benjamin Keough, who died in July 2020.
Keough stepped into this new role after spending the last two decades achieving great success on her own merits. She is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress thanks to her critically acclaimed work on the television series, “Daisy Jones and the Six” and “The Girlfriend Experience” and had early success at the box office thanks to featured roles in films such as “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Magic Mike.” As a producer, Keough joined an elite group that includes Jim Jarmusch, Mira Nair and Steve McQueen when she picked up the prestigious Caméra d'Or for her film “War Pony” at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
As for Keough and Priscilla, the two were seen smiling together at Lisa Marie's daughters Harper and Finley Lockwood’s middle school graduation in a photo posted to Instagram in June.
It is Priscilla who fought to keep Graceland after the death of Elvis, eventually deciding to open the property up to the public to bring in enough revenue to pay for its upkeep.
Graceland now attracts over 600,000 visitors each year, and in 2006 became a National Historic Landmark, the first site to be recognized for significance related to rock music.
Keough spoke about her new role, her late mom, and battling her grandmother in the September issue of Vanity Fair. “When my mom passed, there was a lot of chaos in every aspect of our lives. Everything felt like the carpet had been ripped out and the floor had melted from under us," Keough said.
She added: "We are a family, but there’s also a huge business side of our family. So I think that there was clarity that needed to be had.”
Keough then praised her grandmother.
"She’s a beautiful woman, and she was a huge part of creating my grandfather’s legacy and Graceland," she said. "It’s very important to her. He was the love of her life. Anything that would suggest otherwise in the press makes me sad because, at the end of the day, all she wants is to love and protect Graceland and the Presley family and the legacy. That’s her whole life.
"So it’s a big responsibility she has tried to take on," she continued. "None of that stuff has really ever been a part of our relationship prior. She’s just been my grandma.”
Keough said that the joy Graceland once represented for her, though, is now bittersweet.
"I always had positive and beautiful memories and association with Graceland," Keough said. "Now, a lot of my family’s buried there, so it’s a place of great sadness at this point in my life.”
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