Eliza Presley case on track and moving towards resolution
Trying to prove that you are the secret daughter of Vernon Presley, and half-sister to Elvis Presley, is no simple task. It's much more complicated when the DNA proof that demonstrates this also establishes that Elvis Presley is alive.
[If you haven't read my prior articles about the Eliza Presley case, you can click here to catch up.]
If you stop and think about it, the task is so daunting to almost be insurmountable. Eliza Presley and her lawyer are trying to convince a judge to accept evidence and issue an order that would mean what the world believed to be fact, for more than 30 years, was actually fiction.
This mission is the culmination of Eliza's quest which started almost 20 years ago -- when she had no idea that her search to find her biological father would lead her to this.
Eliza has faced roadblocks, delays, complications and many enemies. The reality is that there are people making a lot of money from the fact that Elvis is dead, and they sure don't want that fact to be changed. There are others still who want the truth to come out -- but they want to expose it (and profit from it). None of these people want Eliza's case to interfere with their agendas.
With the long and difficult path Eliza has traveled, there is no telling for certain when she'll reach the end of the road. But it's coming. It could even be as soon as a month away.
Her court case is now set for a Scheduling Conference on December 14, 2010. Scheduling conferences are typically used so attorneys can update courts about the status of the proceedings, set deadlines for preliminary matters to occur, such as the "discovery" deadline (discovery is the process that parties to lawsuits use to uncover relevant information through depositions, subpoenas, etc.) and ultimately get the case ready for trial.
In this case, the Scheduling Conference will be more important than in most cases because it will be the first time that Eliza's attorney is able to personally address the court about the issue of whether Lisa Marie Presley-Lockwood hired the lawyer who is opposing Eliza's lawsuit.
As I detailed in my last article, it appears this lawyer may not actually represent Lisa Marie. In fact, Eliza believes (for good reason) that Lisa Marie doesn't oppose her lawsuit or her quest to expose the truth. Instead, Eliza and her attorney believe that this lawyer, who claims to represent Lisa Marie, isn't being honest about it. If they are correct, it means he had no right to file anything in the case, much less contest Eliza's claim.
To get to the bottom of this, Eliza's lawyer sent him a letter asking for proof that he really does represent Lisa Marie. He hasn't provided anything in response, and instead told Eliza's lawyer that he won't do so.
I also emailed him directly and offered him for a chance to respond to the last article I wrote on this topic. He wrote me back and politely declined to do so, without explanation.
The question of whether he does or does not represent Lisa Marie will be addressed, and quite possibly resolved, at the December 14th Conference. If the Chancellor (which is what judges in Chancery Court in Tennessee are called) determines that Lisa Marie never authorized this lawyer to act on her behalf, then the opposition he filed to Eliza's claims will be stricken and Eliza's claim will proceed to final judgment, unopposed.
But it is also possible that there will be more delays. The Chancellor may not be ready to resolve that issue on the 14th. Or there could be other factors that play into it. For example, a family member of Eliza has a serious illness (which already caused a two-week postponement of the Conference date). That could cause further delays.
Again, Eliza's monumental journey has encountered far too many bumps in the road to expect that it will be smooth at this point.
Unless, of course, the Chancellor throws this lawyer's defense out of court. Then it would just about be time to start rewriting the history books.
Eliza has told me that, despite all the hurdles being placed in her way, she will see this case through to the end. She has the support of her brother and she will only stop if he asks her to do so.
Posted by: Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.
Posted by Andrew & Danielle Mayoras on November 15, 2010 at 08:39 PM in Celebrities, Elvis Presley, Lawsuits, Musicians | Permalink
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Eliza Presley case on track and moving towards resolution
Trying to prove that you are the secret daughter of Vernon Presley, and half-sister to Elvis Presley, is no simple task. It's much more complicated when the DNA proof that demonstrates this also establishes that Elvis Presley is alive.
[If you haven't read my prior articles about the Eliza Presley case, you can click here to catch up.]
If you stop and think about it, the task is so daunting to almost be insurmountable. Eliza Presley and her lawyer are trying to convince a judge to accept evidence and issue an order that would mean what the world believed to be fact, for more than 30 years, was actually fiction.
This mission is the culmination of Eliza's quest which started almost 20 years ago -- when she had no idea that her search to find her biological father would lead her to this.
Eliza has faced roadblocks, delays, complications and many enemies. The reality is that there are people making a lot of money from the fact that Elvis is dead, and they sure don't want that fact to be changed. There are others still who want the truth to come out -- but they want to expose it (and profit from it). None of these people want Eliza's case to interfere with their agendas.
With the long and difficult path Eliza has traveled, there is no telling for certain when she'll reach the end of the road. But it's coming. It could even be as soon as a month away.
Her court case is now set for a Scheduling Conference on December 14, 2010. Scheduling conferences are typically used so attorneys can update courts about the status of the proceedings, set deadlines for preliminary matters to occur, such as the "discovery" deadline (discovery is the process that parties to lawsuits use to uncover relevant information through depositions, subpoenas, etc.) and ultimately get the case ready for trial.
In this case, the Scheduling Conference will be more important than in most cases because it will be the first time that Eliza's attorney is able to personally address the court about the issue of whether Lisa Marie Presley-Lockwood hired the lawyer who is opposing Eliza's lawsuit.
As I detailed in my last article, it appears this lawyer may not actually represent Lisa Marie. In fact, Eliza believes (for good reason) that Lisa Marie doesn't oppose her lawsuit or her quest to expose the truth. Instead, Eliza and her attorney believe that this lawyer, who claims to represent Lisa Marie, isn't being honest about it. If they are correct, it means he had no right to file anything in the case, much less contest Eliza's claim.
To get to the bottom of this, Eliza's lawyer sent him a letter asking for proof that he really does represent Lisa Marie. He hasn't provided anything in response, and instead told Eliza's lawyer that he won't do so.
I also emailed him directly and offered him for a chance to respond to the last article I wrote on this topic. He wrote me back and politely declined to do so, without explanation.
The question of whether he does or does not represent Lisa Marie will be addressed, and quite possibly resolved, at the December 14th Conference. If the Chancellor (which is what judges in Chancery Court in Tennessee are called) determines that Lisa Marie never authorized this lawyer to act on her behalf, then the opposition he filed to Eliza's claims will be stricken and Eliza's claim will proceed to final judgment, unopposed.
But it is also possible that there will be more delays. The Chancellor may not be ready to resolve that issue on the 14th. Or there could be other factors that play into it. For example, a family member of Eliza has a serious illness (which already caused a two-week postponement of the Conference date). That could cause further delays.
Again, Eliza's monumental journey has encountered far too many bumps in the road to expect that it will be smooth at this point.
Unless, of course, the Chancellor throws this lawyer's defense out of court. Then it would just about be time to start rewriting the history books.
Eliza has told me that, despite all the hurdles being placed in her way, she will see this case through to the end. She has the support of her brother and she will only stop if he asks her to do so.
Posted by: Author and probate attorney Andrew W. Mayoras, co-author of Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights! and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Probate Litigation and The Center for Elder Law in metro-Detroit, Michigan, which concentrate in probate litigation, estate planning, and elder law.
Posted by Andrew & Danielle Mayoras on November 15, 2010 at 08:39 PM in Celebrities, Elvis Presley, Lawsuits, Musicians | Permalink
Digg This | Save to del.icio.us