Posted on 09/24/2004 7:50:27 PM PDT by MarlboroRed
SEATTLE, Sept. 24 - Ending one chapter in a long and bitter family feud over the estate of the rock legend Jimi Hendrix, a judge here ruled Friday that Mr. Hendrix's stepsister and her cousin had mismanaged his estate.
But the ruling, coming after a colorful seven-week trial that drew many Hendrix fans to a courthouse in downtown Seattle, Mr. Hendrix's hometown, was also a blow to his brother, Leon. At issue in the case was the will of their father, Al, who received the rock star's money after Jimi Hendrix died without a will in 1970 in London.
Leon Hendrix was seeking to overturn his father's will and gain control of about a quarter of the $80 million estate.
Judge Jeffrey M. Ramsdell of King County Superior Court ruled that Leon Hendrix was not entitled to anything from his father's will, other than a single gold record left to him when his father died in 2002.
Leon Hendrix's struggles with drug addiction, his failure to complete a treatment program, his unwillingness to work and his continual demands for money were the major reason Al Hendrix cut him from his will, Judge Ramsdell also said in his decision.
The judge also ruled that Janie Hendrix, 43, Jimi's stepsister, had breached her duties as trustee of the estate by failing to make payments to the 10 family members for whom trusts were created in Al Hendrix's will.
A family feud over the will has raged since Al Hendrix left control of the estate to Ms. Hendrix; a cousin, Robert Hendrix; and some of Al Hendrix's children, but not Leon. Ms. Hendrix went on to start a multimillion-dollar company called Experience Hendrix. The ruling on Friday allows her to retain control of the company, but she will no longer have a say in how trust payments are disbursed to the rest of the family.
Holding back tears and surrounded by microphones and cameras, Ms. Hendrix said she was "thankful and grateful" that the judge did not invalidate Al Hendrix's will.
Friends and relatives of both Leon and Janie Hendrix overflowed into the hall outside the courtroom. Supporters of Leon Hendrix wore white shirts that read "Jimi's blood runs through me'' and "His legacy lives through his family and friends."
Though Leon Hendrix, 56, did not get what he was seeking from Friday's ruling, he said he was optimistic that he would prevail in a separate civil suit seeking damages from his stepsister, who he accused of coercing Al Hendrix into disinheriting Leon and his six children.
"We won a little victory, and we'll win the war later,'' Leon Hendrix, surrounded by supporters, said outside the courthouse.
In 35-page ruling, the judge also ordered Janie and Robert Hendrix to pay the lawyer's fees for some of Al Hendrix's other children who were suing along with Leon Hendrix.
Ms. Hendrix was somewhat philosophical about the outcome of the case, saying: "Jimi wrote a song about Leon and it was called, 'It's Too Bad.' The lyrics to that song are what this is all about."
Just days after the father's death, factions in the family began fighting for control of the estate, with one side accusing Ms. Hendrix of undertaking a scheme to disinherit Leon Hendrix and his children and the other side claiming no wrongdoing and contending Leon Hendrix was unstable.
Ms. Hendrix and her lawyers conceded that management mistakes were made, but it was part of learning to run a multimillion-dollar company. They also argued that any inappropriate personal expenses had been paid back to the estate.
"This lawsuit cost millions of dollars and that's going to come from my dad's estate, sadly," Ms. Hendrix said. "You just get really close to the finish line and then the finish line gets moved."
The Hendrix estate may be one of the most-litigated for a rock star, said Charles R. Cross, a Seattle writer who is working on a Hendrix biography. Mr. Cross said he perceived the lawsuits within the family as being driven more by internal family strife than by Mr. Hendrix's millions.
"It sort of gives an indication of the fractured family" Mr. Hendrix grew up in, Mr. Cross said. "This was not Leave-It-to-Beaver-ville."
I should say not. 10-1 something like this erupts when King's widow dies.
Any takers?
Biggest moral of the story? From Day 1 of when you acquire assets, make out a will!
Making out a will won't necessarily prevent relatives from fighting over your carcass.
>>Making out a will won't necessarily prevent relatives from fighting over your carcass.
Amen to that. If there's a pot of money, there are vultures to fight over it.
Whew!
Long indeed, at least to me: Hendrix died the day after I was born.
10-1 something like this erupts when King's widow dies.
I have my doubts, the King family seems like a tight crew. Hell, they love their money so much 'ol Dexter Scott King took lessons from Priscilla Presley on how to market his daddy (we've discussed the crass results at length in earlier posts). It is said the King heirs refuse to marry in order not to risk their family lucre to divorce.
If you have perhaps noticed, Johnny Cash seems to be having a vigorous new career in the ad jingle and memorabilia auction markets now that his mortal coil has been slipped. Perhaps Jimmi is about to find new life on Madison Avenue shortly. After all, Sir Laurence Olivier is playing the villain in the new Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow movie just opened and he's been dead how long?
The Hendrix family may not have been comparable to the Nelson family but when it comes to sheer fruitful untidyness no one can hold a candle to Bob Marley.
How many children did he have? Didn't one of them go on with his own music?
Don't know about the first question, but his son Ziggy has done respectably in the music business.
"How many children did he have? Didn't one of them go on with his own music?"
Ziggy Marley.
Ole Jimi's pushing up daisies at a small suburban cemetery across from a gas station and McDonalds in Renton, WA. No crowds. No special headstone. Nada.
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