Posted on 09/27/2002 5:22:47 PM PDT by blam
Yoko Ono wins battle for return of family photographs
By Marcus Warren in New York
(Filed: 28/09/2002)
John Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, was last night celebrating a resounding victory in her courtroom battle with the couple's former personal assistant.
As part of a settlement of their long-running dispute, Frederic Seaman issued a grovelling apology to his one-time employer and agreed to return documents and 374 photographs taken while working for the Beatle and his wife.
"I just wanted them back," Ms Ono said of the pictures after the decision was announced in a New York court.
"I don't want them to be made public. I am just relieved it's all over."
The couple's son, Sean, admitted feeling strange after watching home video films of himself as a four-year-old shown in the Manhattan court. However, he praised his mother for her resilience. "It's been very, very hard on her," he said.
"She's an amazing woman and she held up well. But it's been very tough on her."
Mr Seaman, whose duties when working for the couple included helping to look after the boy, handed Mr Lennon, now 26, a copy of his book about the family which is written in Japanese.
"Thank you," Mr Lennon said after flipping through the pages.
"That's the best book I shall enjoy burning. I haven't read it. I tend not to read the unauthorised stuff."
Mr Lennon has livened up the already dramatic legal proceedings by befriending court artists and sketching portraits of witnesses on the stand.
The climax of the week-long hearings came yesterday with the announcement of a settlement that bans Mr Seaman from talking in public or writing about his two years with the Lennons ever again.
Ms Ono accused their former employee of violating a confidentiality agreement and profiting from the sale of stolen Lennon mementos to collectors.
Evidence heard in court showed that Mr Seaman was planning to write a book about the former Beatle, who by then was a semi-recluse, and his family even before his murder by a deranged fan in 1980.
Ms Ono wept as, dressed in a black jacket and black jeans, she took the witness stand to swear that she understood the terms of the settlement.
"I am indeed guilty of violating your trust," Mr Seaman confessed to Ms Ono in his apology. He added: "After 20 years I ask for your forgiveness. I did steal items from you belonging to you and John.
"I wrote things about you and your family that were factually incorrect. I ask you to find it in your heart to forgive me so I can move on with my life."
What Lennon saw in her I'll never know.
Me either. He was apparently smitten though.
Lol. Did you hear her on "Double Fantasy"? Totally ruined it. Would have been a great comeback album for John if he had done it himself.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.