New York Times: Judge Settles Long Family Feud Over Jimi Hendrix's Estate

[mad rhetorik]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/25/na...endrix.html?th

[Dusty Chalk]

Can't read the link (not registered) -- could you synopsize please? And don't tell me to register, that's just annoying.

[mad rhetorik]

Can't read the link (not registered) -- could you synopsize please? And don't tell me to register, that's just annoying.

Sorry, didn't realize you had to register to read it. Here's the basics:

New York Times
By BRIAN ALEXANDER
Published: September 25, 2004

"SEATTLE, Sept. 24 - Ending one chapter in a long and bitter family feud over the estate of the rock legend Jimi Hendrix, a judge here ruled Friday that Mr. Hendrix's stepsister and her cousin had mismanaged his estate.

But the ruling, coming after a colorful seven-week trial that drew many Hendrix fans to a courthouse in downtown Seattle, Mr. Hendrix's hometown, was also a blow to his brother, Leon. At issue in the case was the will of their father, Al, who received the rock star's money after Jimi Hendrix died without a will in 1970 in London.

Leon Hendrix was seeking to overturn his father's will and gain control of about a quarter of the $80 million estate.

Judge Jeffrey M. Ramsdell of King County Superior Court ruled that Leon Hendrix was not entitled to anything from his father's will, other than a single gold record left to him when his father died in 2002.

Leon Hendrix's struggles with drug addiction, his failure to complete a treatment program, his unwillingness to work and his continual demands for money were the major reason Al Hendrix cut him from his will, Judge Ramsdell also said in his decision.

The judge also ruled that Janie Hendrix, 43, Jimi's stepsister, had breached her duties as trustee of the estate by failing to make payments to the 10 family members for whom trusts were created in Al Hendrix's will.

A family feud over the will has raged since Al Hendrix left control of the estate to Ms. Hendrix; a cousin, Robert Hendrix; and some of Al Hendrix's children, but not Leon. Ms. Hendrix went on to start a multimillion-dollar company called Experience Hendrix. The ruling on Friday allows her to retain control of the company, but she will no longer have a say in how trust payments are disbursed to the rest of the family."