Graham Estate Suit Revived

David Graham and Alexander Graham-Sult in 2010 sued executor Nick Clainos – a former Graham associate – and others including Wolfgang’s Vault, a service that streams recorded concerts and sells memorabilia from Bill Graham Presents archives, for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, conversion and copyright claims worth millions of dollars.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal in San Francisco held the lower court erred in 2011 in dismissing the sons’ claims for conversion, unjust enrichment, and breach of fiduciary duty against Clainos as well conversion, copyright infringement and declaratory relief against defendants William Sagan, Norton LLC and Bill Graham Archives, aka Wolfgang’s Vault.

The suit accuses Clainos and others of transferring Graham’s memorabilia and property to Bill Graham Enterprises prior to its sale to SFX Entertainment (now Live Nation) but failing to inform them the sale included all of Graham’s copyrights and trademarks, including that of the Fillmore Auditorium.

As heirs, they had a right of first refusal to object to the sale and acquire the property for themselves, according the San Francisco Chronicle.

They received a document in 1997 that outlined the sale of some of Graham’s property rights but not all of them.

The sons said they first learned of the extent of the transfer in February 2009 when they were going through boxes of documents at the former offices of BGP, which was controlled by Clainos.

They accused Clainos of restricting their access to their father’s personal property and never told them about the memorabilia, including several personal scrapbooks.

The appeals court said the claims involve factual disputes that should be heard before a possible trial.

The court separately upheld dismissal of the sons’ claims against the estate’s law firm and also dismissed the order they pay the firm some $240,000 in legal fees.