Priscilla Presley’s former business partners claim that she withdrew medical care from Lisa Marie Presley before her daughter’s death.
On Monday, August 11, Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleging that Priscilla, 80, “pulled the plug within hours of Lisa being admitted” to the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest in January 2023. Lisa, who was 54 years old, had been Priscilla’s only child with Elvis Presley.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, the plaintiffs accuse Priscilla of ignoring Lisa’s “clear directive to ‘prolong her life’” as part of an effort to “regain control” of Elvis’ estate. She “knew that Lisa was in the process of taking steps to remove her as the sole trustee of Lisa’s irrevocable life insurance trust,” they allege, further claiming that Priscilla demanded that Kruse “issue a statement to the media” immediately following her daughter’s death “so she could control the narrative.”
Kruse and Fialko are seeking more than $50 million in damages, claiming fraud and breach of contract. They also allege that Priscilla falsely accused them of elder abuse in a smear campaign.
Priscilla’s attorney, Martin D. Singer, issued a statement to Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday, August 13, calling their complaint “one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious, and meritless lawsuits I have seen in my practice.”
Singer told the outlet, “This is nothing more than a sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty year old woman in blatant retaliation” for Priscilla’s previous lawsuit targeting Kruse and Fialko.
In July 2024, Priscilla sued Kruse, Fialko and two other business associates for 12 different complaints, including financial elder abuse. Court documents reviewed by Us at the time alleged that those associates “meticulously planned” a scheme against “an older woman by gaining her trust, isolating her from the most important people in her life, and duping her into believing that they would take care of her” both personally and financially.
Singer previously claimed that the defendants had intended to take over Priscilla’s finances and force her “into a form of indentured servitude” where she would work and they would “receive the lion’s share of any revenue that she was able to earn in the future.”
The plaintiff’s attorney, Jordan Matthews, alleged in a Wednesday statement to EW that Kruse and Fialko have “video recordings and communications” confirming “there is absolutely no evidence of undue influence, coercion, or elder abuse involved, only a legitimate, well-documented business partnership.”
Singer stated, “Accusing a grieving mother of contributing to her daughter’s death is not savvy advocacy; it is malicious character assassination, and should be broadly condemned. These fabricated claims have absolutely no validity and we are confident this case will be dismissed.”
Lisa Marie inherited Elvis’ Graceland estate and more when he died in 1977. Following her death, the ownership was transferred to her daughter, Riley Keough, 36. (Riley is the eldest child of Lisa Marie and ex Danny Keough. Their son, Benjamin, died in 2020 at age 27.)
Following a dispute over Lisa Marie’s will, Riley and Priscilla eventually settled out of court.
“Things with Grandma will be happy,” Riley told Vanity Fair in a profile published in late 2024. “They’ve never not been happy. … There was a bit of upheaval [after my mom died], but now everything’s going to be how it was. [Priscilla’s] a beautiful woman and she was a huge part of creating my grandfather’s legacy and Graceland. It’s very important to her. He was the love of her life.”
