Trouble appears to be brewing regarding Prince’s $156 million estate.
Back in August 2022, a six-year court battle over the late music legend’s estate was settled after it was agreed that it would be split between Primary Wave and Prince Legacy LLC, as previously reported by AFROTECH.
Prince Legacy LLC is the result of a partnership between three of Prince’s half-siblings and heirs — who reportedly retained their stakes — and advisors L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer. The other three half-siblings, Tyka Nelson, Omarr Baker, and Alfred Jackson, sold all or most of their shares of the estate to Prince Oat Holdings LLC (Primary Wave).
Now, the legal battle has been reopened. Billboard reports that McMillan and Spicer, who manage the Prince Legacy LLC, filed a lawsuit against four of Prince’s family members: Sharon Nelson and Norrine Nelson, his half-sisters, along with Breanna Nelson, his niece, and Allen Nelson, his nephew. Primary Wave is not involved in the dispute.
The plaintiffs, who were longtime friends of Prince, allege that the family members have been attempting to force the business duo out of Prince Legacy, which they say goes against their initial agreement and would negatively impact preserving and protecting Prince’s legacy.
“The Individual defendants lack any business and management experience, have no experience in the music and entertainment industries, and have no experience negotiating and managing high-level deals in the entertainment industry,” McMillan and Spicer wrote in the complaint, per Billboard. “They have a documented history of infighting. Based on the amount and complexity of the work that Prince Legacy is involved with, they are simply not capable of stepping in and managing its business.”
McMillan and Spicer also claimed that Sharon and Breanna “harassed and disparaged” them to resign from the company when their personal requests or demands, such as those related to Paisley Park (Prince’s mansion), were rejected, the outlet details. What’s more, the lawsuit claims that the half-sisters tried to sell their shares in the holding company to Primary Wave.
“In the lawsuit, McMillan and Spicer say such a sale could not be made without unanimous consent of the members of Prince Legacy,” the outlet explained. “Faced with that limitation, the lawsuit claims that the heirs have been trying to change the company’s bylaws — both to remove McMillan and Spicer as managers and to lower the threshold required to let a member sell their shares to a third party.”
According to Billboard, McMillan and Spicer are seeking an immediate injunction.
