Battle Over Estate of Jimi Hendrix Heads to Court
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Battle over estate of Jimi Hendrix heads to court Jump to Weather | Traffic | Webtowns | Mariners | Seahawks | Sonics | Forums NEWS Saturday, June 26, 2004 TOOLS Local Transportation Consumer Battle over estate of Jimi Hendrix heads to court Print this E-mail this Education Most printed & e-mailed By MIKE LEWIS Elections Environment SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Legislature Joel Connelly If Jimi Hendrix were a fragrance, what fragrance would he be? Robert Jamieson Visitors Guide Turns out, it's vanilla. This is not, perhaps, the aroma rock critics would have Obituaries picked to represent the late legendary guitarist, who in his short life was anything Neighborhoods but as he overhauled the way musicians play rock guitar. But there Jimi is, Sports embossed on an air freshener sold by the company controlled by his stepsister, Nation/World Janie Hendrix. Business A&E On the Experience Hendrix Web site, fans can buy the Seattle native's image on Lifestyle cell phone covers, shorts, jackets, incense and albums featuring nearly every NW Outdoors recorded moment of his brief but prolific career. While the use of the image has Photos spurred some criticism and the albums some praise, it's the money both earn that is Special Reports the source of a legal fight headed to trial Monday. COMMENTARY Opinion Written out of the living trust under circumstances he deems suspicious, Jimi's Columnists younger brother, Leon Hendrix, 56, wants a share of the cash and the companies Letters that his late father, Al, helped start and that his stepsister Janie and cousin Robert David Horsey now control. At issue in the petition filed in King County Superior Court is the last Saturday Spin will his father wrote before his death in April 2002. It left Leon and his family Forums without a dime of the estate's money. COFFEE BREAK Comics & Games "Me and my father always did have a great relationship," Leon Hendrix said in an Mike Mailway interview. "I was always in his will. This is my father. He provided for (me and my TV Listings children) all of this time, for some reason ... everything became changed." FIND IT! Additionally, the petition asserts that other trustees named as beneficiaries didn't receive payments the trust should provide. Broadly, the plaintiffs accuse Janie (and to a lesser degree Robert) of manipulating an infirm Al to take control of the family money. The estate is valued at about $80 million and reportedly pulls in several million annually. "What was the reason to carve Leon out?" asked Robert Curran, Leon's attorney. "Al said he would provide for Leon and his children and included them in the original will. We want the court to look at Al's stated history and then what happened with the estate plan." HEADLINES http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/179628_hendrix26.html (1 of 5)6/26/2004 10:09:11 AM Battle over estate of Jimi Hendrix heads to court NWclassifieds Defending the estate trust, and her role as the company boss and defender of the • Jobs Hendrix legacy, is Janie Hendrix, 43. Her attorneys say Janie, who was adopted by Battle over estate of Jimi • Autos Al in 1968 when he married her mother, June Jinka, helped Al regain the rights to Hendrix heads to court • Real Estate his son's music and then helped manage the disorganized, debt-ridden estate into • Rentals financial health. Crab boat buyout program NWsource halted • Shopping In an interview, Janie said she's done a good job protecting the Hendrix legacy and 'Fahrenheit' heats up Seattle • Personals making the trust financially sound. "Basically we were put in charge to run this • Yellow pages business and we're running the companies to the best of our abilities," she said. Man in cow case related to • Maps/directions farmer P-I Archives Obituaries Leon, the defense says in Preliminary test is positive for court documents, is a mad cow P-I ANYWHERE former drunk, drug addict Guardsman's competency E-mail Newsletters and freeloader who questioned News Alerts siphoned money from the PDA family until a dying Al cut 8-year sentence for man who Cell Phones him off on his own. had sex overseas with boys RSS Feeds Bid for downtown tunnel work "In his own sworn 12% under estimate testimony (Leon) said he's been estranged from Al Longtime judge remembered as amiable and fair most of his life," Janie's attorney John Wilson said. WSU halts transfer requests "So why the change now?" Bill and Hillary Clinton to visit Seattle The fight, already nasty, could get worse when the trial begins. Animal-rights group sues Attorney General's Office Janie has questioned Leon's parentage, implying that Al isn't his real father. (The Puget Sound Journal: truth is sealed in court records.) Her attorneys cite past depositions in which Leon Subcontinent connection professed not to care whether he was in the will at all. And Leon's legal complaint, Janie's attorneys note, has been bankrolled by local developer Craig Dieffenbach. Basketball junkies descend on Spokane Wilson has asked what Dieffenbach stands to gain by this, implying that he's cut a Greyhound will discontinue OUR AFFILIATES hidden, profitable deal. Dieffenbach said he's only trying to help a friend. service to many small towns Port police arrest child-abuse "I'm already into this for $3.5 million," he said. suspect Leon's attorneys say Janie, as a 7-year-old, met Jimi two or three times briefly Shooting injures man in Central District before he died in 1970. Since taking over the estate, she and Robert Hendrix (her first cousin and second-in command in Experience Hendrix) have lived a jet-set Firefighters rescue dogs from lifestyle while others in the family go broke, Curran said. house fire Sheriffs' group honors Reichert "What we are trying to accomplish is to have Janie removed from (control of the Hendrix estate) where she's lived the life of a rock star while other people live in North East Branch of library poverty," Curran said. reopens today Small quake detected near Leon's legal fight is two-tiered. First, he seeks to remove Janie from control of the Mount Rainier estate. Then he wants a complete restructuring of the estate plan to grant him an ownership share, as he had in a will drawn up for his father in 1995. If successful, 2 men get prison for woman's he wants unspecified damages for the time he spent cut off from the family money. slaying A trial for damages could happen as soon as October. Lightning sparks fires in North Cascades Joining Leon's complaint are seven beneficiaries whom Al Hendrix did include in a Religion Calendar later, modified will and the 10 trusts contained within. They accuse Janie and http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/179628_hendrix26.html (2 of 5)6/26/2004 10:09:11 AM Battle over estate of Jimi Hendrix heads to court Robert of lavish personal spending and corporate money games that keep the pair King County Deaths wealthy with salaries while hiding the profits earmarked for beneficiaries. For example, the breakaway group of seven family members who are listed as beneficiaries of Hendrix trusts say they have not seen any of the promised profits. Janie counters that the beneficiaries will see the money when the companies are profitable. These include Experience Hendrix, Authentic Hendrix LLC, Bodacious Hendrix LP and Axis Inc., Purple Haze Inc. and Stay Experienced Inc. But that hasn't happened yet after the lengthy legal battle to reacquire song rights and produce new albums. The company, she said, remains millions of dollars in debt. "We started out close to $30 million in debt," Janie said. "So there have been profits, yes, but they have paid off debt and have gone toward acquisitions to build the business." She cited Experience Hendrix's involvement in the 2000 Grammy-winning DVD, "Band of Gypsys -- Live at the Fillmore East," as an example of the company's improved direction. The companies' books, to be made public during the trial, show a different story, said David Osgood, who is representing the group of beneficiaries. "It's safe to say (Janie and Robert) pay themselves in the hundreds of thousands of dollars," he said. "They've had grossly excessive personal expenses. We're seeking Janie's removal" as trustee. Unlike Leon's case, however, the beneficiaries do not want the living trust rewritten -- they just want Janie out of power. As 17 percent owners of Experience Hendrix, they mainly want a share of the profits. As for Leon, he doesn't deserve a cent, the defense says. "Leon isn't in the (living trust) because Leon and his children alienated Al," Wilson said. "It's that clear." Actually, according to the court documents, nothing about the Hendrix estate is clear at all. As shown by the legal battles over Nirvana song rights after Kurt Cobain's death, fights over legacy control can turn bitter when millions of dollars are at stake and personal, familial relationships get prodded, weighed and measured. Is a brother closer than a dad? Is a stepsister entitled to more than a cousin? Does blood matter more than adoption? Because Jimi left home at a young age, and according to biographers didn't stay in regular close contact with his family, who should have a claim to his legacy and, with it, the money it collects? Or is it simply a case of too many people putting their straws in a drink they didn't buy? Jimi Hendrix was born in Seattle on Nov.