Princeâs former business advisors L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer Jr. have won a key ruling in their ongoing estate lawsuit against several of the late artistâs heirs, reports Billboard. McMillan and Spicer are currently managers of Prince Legacy LLC, the estate management holding company they co-created with several of Princeâs legal heirs, but several of those family membersâPrinceâs half-sisters Sharon and Norrine Nelson, plus his niece and nephew Breanna and Allen Nelsonâallegedly attempted to oust them from the company. On July 5, a Delaware judge ruled that those four family members could not amend the LLC agreement to remove McMillan and Spicer because it breaks the terms of the agreement.
âThe LLC agreement is unambiguous and [McMillan and Spicer]âs interpretation is the only reasonable one,â Chancellor Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick wrote in the decision, which Pitchfork has viewed. âPlaintiffs here allege that Defendants breached the LLC Agreement by purporting to remove the Managing Members and amend the LLC Agreement. As stated in the above analysis, that allegation is adequately alleged. Plaintiffs have stated a claim for breach of contract.â
In a statement to Pitchfork, McMillan said he and Spicer were âpleasedâ with the new ruling in this lawsuit, as was Johnny Nicholas Nelson Torres, another Prince relative who âstrongly opposesâ Nelsonâs actions and joined their lawsuit as a plaintiff. âI have protected Prince and been his partner for decades. Nothing will change our history and my loyalty to him and his legacy,â said McMillan. âWe are pleased with the Judgeâs decision and wish we were not forced to take legal action for the wrongdoing of the Defendants (and their advisors) yet we have a heavy responsibility to preserve and protect Princeâs legacy and all he created, by any and all appropriate means necessary.â
An attorney for Sharon Nelson and the other defendants did not immediately return a request for comment to Pitchfork.
As previously reported, and reiterated in the court documents, six of Princeâs siblings inherited equal interests in his estate, with three of them assigning their combined 50% interest to Prince Legacy LLC. As Princeâs former business advisors, McMillan and Spicer assisted some of those heirs in the probate process and, in return, were each compensated with a 10% interest in Prince Legacy and âbroad and exclusive management authorityâ as Managing Members of the LLC. âOne of the heirs, Sharon Nelson, came to regret this decision and inserted herself into management decisionsâby demanding, for example, that the entire staff of the Paisley Park Museum be replaced,â reads the decision. âWhen McMillan and Spicer did not acquiesce to her demands, Sharon led the defendantsâ efforts to remove McMillan and Spicer as Managing Members by amending the LLC agreement.â
The lawsuit also claims that both Sharon and Breanna Nelson attempted to sell their shares to Primary Wave, which would seemingly tip the balance of the Prince estateâs current 50-50 divide. McMillan and Spicerâs complaint alleges that not only have the Nelsons sought to change bylaws to remove the two advisors, but to also sell their shares to a third party without unanimous consent from Prince Legacyâs membership.
Prince died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016. At the time, he did not have a written will â leading to a six-year-long legal battle in Minnesota probate court over the division of his estate and assets. When that case concluded in August 2022, the estate was split into two companies: Prince Legacy and Primary Wave.
