Tom Petty had great success in music and is widely respected, even after his death in 2017. There will be endless repackages, remixes, greatest hits releases and live performances that no one ever knew were recorded to keep the money rolling in for his record company and publishing concerns, but his eldest daughter, Adria, recently came up with a novel method of making the cash register ring that sweet song a few more times before people forget the leader of The Heartbreakers.
The plan did not sit so well with Adria's stepmother, Dana, who blocked it, accusing Adria of "selling out" and creating a “sad perversion of Tom’s legacy" as she ran to the nearest courtroom.
And what was Adria's idea? Apparently inspired by the (Paul) Newman's Own line of supermarket items, she was going to make a selection of Tom Petty Salad Dressings and whatnot.
“Tom would never have permitted such a thing, he never ‘sold out’ while he was alive and refused to do any such thing despite numerous opportunities. Dana is certain Tom’s fans would also find it a sad perversion of Tom’s legacy" said one of the 2,395 lawyers who will have their fingers in this bottle of Bleu Cheese dressing by the time it's all over.
Turning up the heat a notch, Adria, 44, told a probate court that Dana has been “misappropriating” money from Tom’s estate and intellectual property for her own gain. In a counterclaim, Dana points out that she considers Adria "unhinged.”
When Petty died of an overdose at aged 66, his daughters from his first marriage, Adria and Annakim, each got a 1/3 say over the matters of his estate along with Dana. I imagine it took less than 5 minutes before the sisters Petty turned on old Dana to fight it out.
A few weeks ago, Adria filed a petition in Los Angeles probate court seeking to wrest control of Tom’s music catalogue, said to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
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| In happier days |
It's got all the earmarks of the kind of trial that Court TV will carry - the grieving widow, trying to eke out a meager existence on two hundred million dollars worth of old songs, almost all of which were recorded before she came along to marry the singer, and the daughters, trying to chisel every nickel they can.
Dana will be able to show what she considers to be “abusive” text messages allegedly sent to her by Adria.
And Dana will be represented by attorney Adam Streisand (!), who said, “Dana Petty would have done almost anything to avoid all of this. Over the past weeks and months, however, the behavior of her stepdaughters Adria and Annakim has gone from unconscionable to unhinged – and it needs to be stopped.
“Tom Petty entrusted his wife Dana to choose how all three women could work together to carry on Tom’s legacy. But Adria and Annakim thought they could bully Dana and cast her aside. In the process, they’ve threatened, maligned and sued the people Tom worked closely with for decades.
“Her loyalty to her husband and the people he loved and trusted gave her the strength to fight, not only for herself, but for the whole Tom Petty and Heartbreakers family.”
Adria and Annakim Petty are ably assisted by attorney Alex Weingarten, who wants it known that Dana's allegations are “completely false.”
He says that all the Petty daughters are trying to do is to do the right thing for their father, claiming that it is Dana who is difficult as she tries to take over the whole Petty-ness.
Weingarten said, “Dana and her lawyer are basing their case on smoke and mirrors. Every claim they make is demonstrably false.
“Adria and Annakim are laser focused on one thing – honoring and protecting their father’s legacy and enforcing the terms of his trust, as written.”
He concluded, "Creamy Italian or Thousand Island?"
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