Delaware judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit in battle over estate of the late pop icon Prince
DOVER, Del. — A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former business advisers of the late pop music icon Prince against two of his siblings and other heirs in a dispute over his estate.
The judge also agreed Friday with plaintiffs L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. that an agreement proposing to replace them as managers of a limited liability company formed by three siblings was invalid.
Prince died in 2016 from an accidental fentanyl overdose. He had no will, and his six siblings inherited equal interests in the estate.
Three of them transferred their combined 50% interest to Prince Legacy LLC. They also gave McMillan and Spicer each a 10% interest in Prince Legacy, along with broad and exclusive management authority.
One sister, Sharon Nelson, later regretted this decision and led an effort to remove McMillan and Spicer as managing members by amending the LLC agreement.
Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick ruled that the terms of the original LLC agreement are unambiguous and prohibit the defendants’ attempts to modify it. She said the agreement remains in effect and that McMillan and Spicer will remain as managing members.
βIn the field of contract law, this is the only reasonable interpretation,β the judge wrote.
McCormick also ruled that the plaintiffs can bring a claim that the defendants breached the LLC agreement by acting without permission to amend it and dismiss McMillan and Spicer.
The lawsuit stems from disagreements between Tyka Nelson, Prince’s sister, and five half-siblings: Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, John R. Nelson, Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson.
Tyka, Omarr and Alfred, the three youngest, sold their shares to a music publishing company called Primary Wave Music, LLC, which later transferred its interests to a subsidiary, Prince OAT Holdings LLC. Alfred has since passed away.
The elder siblings, Sharon, Norrine and John, transferred 20% of their joint interests to McMillan and Spicer before John passed away in 2021. His interests passed into a trust overseen by Breanna Nelson, Allen Nelson and Johnny Nicholas Nelson Torres as co-trustees. Breanna and Allen are named as defendants in the lawsuit, along with Sharon and Norrine, while Nelson Torres has sided with the plaintiffs.
The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Sharon attempted to improperly interfere with management decisions and once demanded that the entire staff of the Paisley Park Museum in Minnesota be replaced. She also accused McMillan and Spicer of fraud and attempted to sell her interests in Prince Legacy without the necessary consent of the other members.
The lawsuit is part of a long and complicated legal battle that concerns both the size and beneficiaries of Prince’s estate. In 2022, nearly six years after his death, the Internal Revenue Service and the estate’s administrator agreed to end a lawsuit and value the estate at about $156 million.