Plans to sell Elvis Presley’s historic Graceland mansion blocked by judge

Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough was named sole trustee of the estate earlier this year

A Tennessee judge has blocked efforts to put Elvis Presley’s landmark former home, Graceland, up for sale by a company that claimed his estate had failed to properly repay a loan that used it as collateral.

The decision comes after Presley’s granddaughter, actor Riley Keough, branded the planned foreclosure auction of the historic building “fraudulent” and filed a lawsuit to halt it.

Shelby County Chancellor JoeDae Jenkins issued a temporary injunction against the proposed auction that had been scheduled for Thursday this week.

A representative for Graceland told The Independent: “As the court has now made clear, there was no validity to the claims. There will be no foreclosure.

“Graceland will continue to operate as it has for the past 42 years, ensuring that Elvis fans from around the world can continue to have a best in class experience when visiting his iconic home.”

Keough was named the sole owner and trustee of the family estate after the death of her mother, Lisa Marie Presley, in 2023, and following a legal battle with her grandmother, Priscilla Presley.

A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the 13-acre estate in Memphis posted earlier in May said Promenade Trust, which controls the Graceland museum, owes $3.8m (£2.9m) after failing to repay a 2018 loan.

Fans gather outside Elvis Presley’s former home, Graceland mansion (AP)

According to the legal notice, Lisa Marie allegedly signed a Deed of Trust in 2018 to secure the loan through a Missouri company called Naussany Investments and Private Lending, using Graceland as collateral.

Elvis Presley purchased the property for £102,500 in 1957 – the same year he released hits such as “All Shook Up” and “Blue Christmas” – and lived there until his death in 1977.

Keough’s lawsuit, filed on 15 May, claims her mother’s signatures on the documents are forgeries, that the loan never transpired, that Naussany Investments is not a real company, and that the loan’s notary public did not notarise it.

In a statement to NBC News, Elvis Presley Enterprises, the organisation that runs Graceland and the assets of the Elvis Presley Trust, suggested the announced sale is a scheme.

“Elvis Presley Enterprises can confirm that these claims are fraudulent. There is no foreclosure sale. Simply put, the counter lawsuit has been filed is to stop the fraud,” a spokesperson said.

The Graceland estate was inherited by Lisa Marie upon the rock icon’s death and was opened to the public as a museum in 1982. The 13.8-acre property attracts around half a million visitors each year, as fans make a pilgrimage to pay tribute to one of America’s most significant musicians.