Graceland on the block? Elvis’ granddaughter sues to halt sale

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Actor Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ‘n’ roll’s former home as collateral was not repaid.

A public auction for the estate had been scheduled for Thursday, but a Memphis judge blocked the sale after Keough sought a temporary restraining order and filed a lawsuit, court documents show.

A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre estate posted earlier in May said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Keough inherited the trust and ownership of the home after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, last year. Lisa Marie Presley had used Graceland as collateral for the loan, the lawsuit said.

Naussany Investments and Private Lending said Lisa Marie Presley failed to pay back the loan and sought to sell the estate on the courthouse steps, according to the foreclosure sale notice. Keough, on behalf of the Promenade Trust, sued last week, claiming that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan and unpaid sum in September 2023.

“Lisa Maria Presley never borrowed money from Naussany Investments and never gave a deed of trust to Naussany Investments,” Keough’s lawyer wrote in a lawsuit.

Kimberly Philbrick, the notary whose name is listed on the documents, indicated that she never meet Lisa Marie Presley nor notarized any documents for her, the court filing said. The Associated Press texted Philbrick at numbers believed to be hers, but she didn’t immediately respond.

W. Bradley Russell, a lawyer for Keough, declined comment Tuesday.

Kurt Naussany, who was identified in court documents as a defendant, directed questions in an email to Gregory Naussany. Gregory Naussany told the AP in an email: “The attorneys can make comment!”

An injunction hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in Shelby County Chancery Court.

“Elvis Presley Enterprises can confirm that these claims are fraudulent. There is no foreclosure sale. Simply put, the counter lawsuit has been filed is to stop the fraud,” Elvis Presley Enterprises Inc. said in a statement Tuesday.

Graceland opened as a museum and tourist attraction in 1982 as a tribute to Elvis Presley, the singer and actor who died in August 1977 at age 42. It draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Associated Press reporters Sarah Brumfield in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, contributed to this story.