Kim Kardashian is not just in court divorcing
Kris Humphries, she and her sisters just entered into a legal fight to protect their father’s property.
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.”
