DOVER, Delaware (AP): A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former business advisers to the late pop music icon Prince against two of his siblings and other heirs in a dispute over his estate. The judge on Friday also agreed with plaintiffs L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr that an agreement purporting to replacing them as managers of a limited liability company established by three siblings was invalid.
Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose in 2016. He had no will, and his six siblings inherited equal interests in the estate. The lawsuit stems from disagreements involving Tyka Nelson, Prince's sister, and five half-siblings: Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, John R.
Nelson, Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson. Three of them, Sharon, Norrine and John, assigned their combined 50 per cent interest to Prince Legacy LLC. They also granted McMillan and Spicer each a 10 per cent interest in Prince Legacy, along with broad and exclusive management authority.
One sister, Sharon Nelson, later regretted the decision and led an effort to remove McMillan and Spicer as managing members by amending the LLC agreement. Tyka, Omarr and Alfred, the three youngest, sold their stake to a music publishing company called Primary Wave Music, LLC, which later assigned its interests to an affiliate, Prince OAT Holdings LLC. Alfred has since died.
John Nelson died in 2021 and his interests passed to a trust overseen by Breanna Nelson, Allen Nelson and Johnny Nicholas Nels.