Lisa Marie Presley has responded to claims by her former business manager that filing an accounting of his expenses with the court would be too costly and should be limited in scope, saying in her new court papers that his motion has no merit.
On July 30, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert Wada told lawyers for Barry Siegel — who Presley accuses of squandering much of her family fortune — that they must provide an accounting covering the period of January 2004 until the end of February 2016 and that it should be filed by Nov. 29. But in their recent court papers, Siegel’s lawyers say the order must be changed to avoid what they say is a “miscarriage of justice.”
“The cost to prepare an accounting … based on those records will be approximately $360,000,” Siegel’s lawyers state in their court papers. “The time needed to prepare the accounting may take up to a year and a half from the time all the underlying documentation is located.”
However, Presley says in her court papers that Siegel hasn’t offered any new information to support his claims.
“After failing to object to the order compelling the acounting, (Siegel) now makes a defective, meritless motion for reconsideration of that very order,” Presley’s court papers state. “Not only does the motion fail as a matter of law, but the factual basis for the motion is frankly absurd.”
A hearing on Siegel’s motion is scheduled Friday.
Presley’s lawyer, Amanda Khan, previously said that the July ruling ordering the accounting was “a significant victory for Lisa Marie Presley.”
Wada ordered that the accounting include expenses Siegel charged as Presley’s business manager and his reasons for using funds taken from the Promenade Trust that was originally formed by her father, Elvis Presley. Siegel was the trustee of the Promenade Trust, Khan said.
Presley, 50, alleges her $100 million fortune was pared to five figures because Siegel acted in his own best interests in making business decisions.
On July 23, Siegel counter sued Presley, saying she owes him $800,000 in additional fees.
Presley, a singer-songwriter, is the only child of Elvis and Priscilla Presley. She also is the sole heir to her father’s estate.
Siegel’s lawyers blame Presley for her financial woes, stating in their court papers that she had an “inability to rein in her lavish lifestyle despite being told repeatedly that she could not afford it.”