Graceland, the Memphis former residence of deceased musical icon Elvis Presley and the second-most-visited home in America, only after the White House, will not go to a foreclosure auction sale, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Riley Keough, Elvis’s granddaughter and the current trustee of Graceland, filed a lawsuit on May 15 in Tennessee’s Shelby County to block the sale of the estate, calling claims that it had been used as collateral for a $3.8 million loan taken by her mother Lisa Marie Presley before her 2023 death “fraudulent.”
A company called Naussany Investments & Private Lending LLC made the claim and had planned a foreclosure auction for Thursday, May 23. Keough, in the suit, alleged that the LLC is “not a real entity.” Indeed, Naussany did not have any representatives in court on Wednesday, and Vanity Fair and other outlets have not been able to reach a verified representative for the group for comment.
In a statement to Vanity Fair, representatives for Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., the business operator of Graceland, said, “As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims. There will be no foreclosure. Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best-in-class experience when visiting his iconic home.”
According to ABC, the Wednesday hearing lasted only eight minutes. Shelby County chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued an injunction to block the advertised sale, backing up the doubt Keough’s suit cast on the authenticity of Naussany’s documents.
“The notary has sworn that the notary did not notarize the signature of Lisa Marie Presley on the deed of trust, which brings into question the authenticity of the signature,” Jenkins said.
The judge added that Graceland’s sale would cause “irreparable harm,” as it is a major Tennessee tourist attraction.
“The public interest is best served, particularly here in Shelby County, for Graceland is a part of this community, well loved by this community and, indeed, around the world,” Jenkins said.
A local CBS outlet also reported that as of Tuesday, the Shelby County Register of Deeds had no record on file for a deed related to Graceland, which would be required for any foreclosure sale.
Keough’s grandmother, Priscilla Presley, kept her public thoughts brief, posting a message to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday simply saying, “It’s a scam!”
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According to the Associated Press, Kurt Naussany, who was named as a defendant in Keough’s court filings, directed reporters to an email address for a “Gregory Naussany.” This person, via email, told the news service, “The attorneys can make comment!”
The next court date in the matter has not yet been set, though Jenkins said that Naussany, who filed a one-page request seeking a delay to the hearing on Tuesday and was denied, would have a chance to make his own case.
“I respectfully deny the allegations made by Danielle Riley Keough,” Gregory Naussany wrote in his filing, according to NBC. “Naussany Investments & Private Lending is prepared to provide evidence and arguments to demonstrate the relief sought is not justified in this case.”
Public records searches with the secretaries of state in Florida and Missouri did not result in a company registered by that name, nor does LexisNexis’s public records database show results for either Kurt or Gregory Naussany.
Attorneys for Riley Keough did not immediately respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.
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