Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian filed a lawsuit against Ellen Pearson, the widow of their dad Robert Kardashian, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Kardashians are suing for conversion, copyright infringement and are seeking at least $500,000 in damages. They claim Pearson engaged in an “unlawful scheme to hold in secret and convert, and now exploit. . . private personal copyright protected” material.
The items the Kardashian daughters and mom Kris Jenner, who is also listed in the lawsuit, are referring to are personal family possessions, including Robert’s diary, family photo albums and a family holiday photograph. These keepsakes document the lives of the Kardashians before they became famous and have recently turned up in such publications as In Touch and Life & Style magazines.
Pearson, who married Robert two months before he died in 2003, allegedly and secretly retained several Kardashian family items. She also reportedly licensed portions of the diaries and photos to Bauer Publishing, which owns both In Touch and Life & Style.
Kris and the Kardashian daughters claim that at the time of Robert’s death he willed the “bulk of his personal tanigible and intangible property” to his four children, including Robert Kardashian Jr.
In the will, “tangible” property refers to “personal effects, books, works on paper and other items of … personal use.” The “intangible” items Robert left to his family include “rights to a deceased personality’s name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness.”
The Kardashians say that Pearson deliberately hid these belongings “with the express intent to one-day capitalize and exploit the valuable property and celebrity of the famous Robert Kardashian.”
In 2010, Pearson filed for chapter seven bankruptcy and was required to list all assets and property of value. But allegedly, “Pearson did not disclose nor list her possession of…the valuable Diary and/or Photograph and/or Kardashian Family Albums.”
