A Connecticut decide has settled a bitter feud over the property of the late legendary blues guitarist Johnny Winter, ordering his managers to pay $226,000 in damages for improper funds they acquired after his 2014 demise and rejecting their declare to the rights to his music.
Relations of Winter’s late spouse, Susan, sued Winter’s supervisor, Paul Nelson, and his spouse, Marion, in 2020, claiming the Nelsons swindled greater than $1 million from Winter’s music enterprise. The Nelsons denied the allegations and countersued. They accused the relations of improperly having Paul Nelson ousted because the beneficiary of Winter’s property, they usually claimed possession of his music rights.
After a seven-day trial earlier than a decide in January 2024, Decide Trial Referee Charles Lee dominated Friday that the Nelsons acquired improper funds and made improper withdrawals from Winter’s accounts, however rejected claims they dedicated fraud, mismanagement and breach of contract.
“The court finds that the conduct for which it has awarded the damages set forth above was negligent or at least arguably legitimate,” Lee wrote in a 54-page determination that additionally rejected the claims within the Nelsons’ countersuit.
The decide stated the Nelsons’ most severe impropriety was withdrawing $112,000 from Winter’s enterprise account and depositing it into one among their very own accounts in 2019, with out itemizing Susan Winter as a signatory on their account. Susan Winter owned all of her husband’s property — valued at about $3 million on the time of his demise. The decide stated punitive damages could also be imposed on the Nelsons due to that switch.
Paul Nelson, who managed Johnny Winter’s enterprise from 2005 to 2019 and performed guitar in his band, died in March 2024 from a coronary heart assault throughout a music tour. Marion Nelson, who did bookkeeping for the Winters and the music enterprise, didn’t instantly return an electronic mail message Monday. The Nelsons’ attorneys didn’t instantly return telephone and electronic mail messages. It wasn’t clear in the event that they deliberate to enchantment.
Susan Winter died from lung most cancers in October 2019. Months earlier than her demise, she eliminated Paul Nelson as her successor trustee to her household belief, which included all of her late husband’s property. She named her sister and brother, Bonnie and Christopher Warford, from Charlotte, North Carolina, as her new successor trustees, they usually sued the Nelsons.
The Warfords’ attorneys didn’t instantly return telephone and electronic mail messages Monday. Telephone numbers for the Warfords listed in public information had been now not in service.
The Nelsons claimed the Warfords took benefit of Susan Winter and had her signal authorized paperwork whereas she was medicated close to the tip of her life. In addition they alleged the Warfords soured their relationship with Susan Winter with false embezzlement claims. The Warfords denied these allegations.
The decide dominated that the Warfords had been entitled to damages due to improper funds the Nelsons acquired, together with $68,000 in royalty funds from a 2016 public sale of Winter’s property, $69,000 in money withdrawals, $18,000 in expense reimbursements and $15,000 in different royalty funds.
The Warfords additionally had been awarded $56,000 that is still in one of many Nelsons’ accounts, the identical account used within the $112,000 switch criticized by the decide. In 2020, the Nelsons transferred about $151,000 out of that account to the Warfords’ attorneys.
Lee additionally rejected claims by the Warfords that Paul Nelson mustn’t have acquired $300,000 in public sale proceeds from the sale of three of Johnny Winter’s guitars, as a result of Winter promised these guitars to Paul Nelson.
John Dawson Winter III was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. He burst onto the world blues scene within the Sixties, dazzling crowds along with his quick licks whereas his trademark lengthy, white hair flew about from below his cowboy hat. He and his brother Edgar — each born with albinism — had been each famend musicians. Johnny Winter, who performed at Woodstock in 1969, was inducted into the Blues Basis Corridor of Fame in 1988.
Rolling Stone journal listed him because the No. 63 greatest guitar participant of all time in 2015. He launched greater than two dozen albums and was nominated for a number of Grammy Awards, profitable his first one posthumously in 2015 for Greatest Blues Album for “Step Back.” Nelson produced the album and likewise took house a Grammy for it.
Johnny Winter, who spent 20 years dwelling in Easton, Connecticut, earlier than his demise, battled heroin habit for years and credited Nelson, whom he met in 1999, with serving to him get off the opioid methadone and revive his profession, in accordance with the 2014 documentary, “Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty.”
