Priscilla Presley Slams ‘Shameful’ Lawsuit Claims That She Ignored Lisa Marie’s Health Woes in Plot to Control Elvis Estate

Priscilla Presley’s lawyer is denying allegations in a new $50 million civil lawsuit filed against her that accuses her of leading her only daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, to an early death in an alleged plot to regain control of the Elvis Presley estate.

In the lawsuit, filed by Priscilla’s former business partners, Brigitte Kruse and Kevin Fialko, on Aug. 11 in California Superior Court, claims that Priscilla, 80, schemed to “defraud” her business partners, “destroy reputations with unsubstantiated claims” and “exploit” Lisa Marie’s death to “regain control over Elvis Presley’s legacy and assets.”

The plaintiffs claim Priscilla ignored Lisa Marie’s health concerns at the Golden Globes in January 2023. Days later, Lisa Marie suffered a cardiac arrest and died. She was 54.

“Priscilla, who knew that Lisa was in the process of taking steps to remove her as the sole trustee of Lisa’s irrevocable life insurance trust, saw an opportunity to regain control,” the lawsuit alleges. Priscilla rushed to the hospital, where she allegedly “pulled the plug” before Lisa Marie’s daughter, Riley Keough, could arrive, despite Lisa Marie’s “clear directive to ‘prolong her life,’ ” the lawsuit claims.

The plaintiffs allege that Priscilla “knew that Lisa’s death neutralized the threat of Lisa’s efforts to have Priscilla removed as the sole trustee of Lisa’s irrevocable life insurance trust,” and that she “ultimately” wanted control of Graceland. 

Kruse and Fialko later claim they negotiated a deal with Keough after Priscilla filed a challenge to the trust Lisa Marie created to protect her assets and inheritance from Elvis’ estate. They also say they made deals for Priscilla’s son, Navarone Garcia, Lisa Marie’s twin daughters Harper and Finley Lockwood, and Harper and Finley’s father, Michael Lockwood. 

The lawsuit also names Keya Morgan as a defendant. The plaintiffs say Morgan contacted Kruse in June 2023, claiming to be Priscilla’s “friend” and “falsely claimed that he was an attorney.” Later, Priscilla began cutting off contact with Kruse and Fialko, they allege, adding that they were “disinvited” from attending the November 2023 Venice premiere of Priscilla.

In response to the lawsuit, Priscilla’s lawyer, Marty Singer, called it “one of the most shameful, ridiculous, salacious, and meritless lawsuits I have seen in my practice,” adding that it is “nothing more than a sad and vicious attempt to falsely tarnish the reputation of an eighty year old woman in blatant retaliation for bringing a lawsuit to redress the wrongful conduct of Brigitte Kruse, Kevin Fialko, and their co-conspirators.”

Singer added that Keough, 36, “stands behind her grandmother 100% and is equally disgusted with this latest, vicious attempt by Kruse to attempt to ruin her grandmother’s life.” (In August 2023, Keough became the sole heir of Lisa Marie’s trust and will oversee the sub-trusts for her sisters Harper and Finley, both 16.)

In July 2024, Priscilla claimed she was a victim of elder abuse and had $1 million stolen from her. The lawsuit named Kruse, Fialko and others, alleging that they controlled her finances and forced her into a “form of indentured servitude” 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 (personally and financially).”

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Kruse’s legal team later called the lawsuit “retaliatory” to a September 2023 lawsuit Kruse filed for alleged breach of contract, a claim Singer rejected. 

In the new lawsuit, Kruse and Fialko are seeking at least $50 million in damages and demand a jury trial.