Yoko Ono has apparently reached an out-of-court settlement with Frederic Seaman, the former assistant of the late John Lennon. The legal dispute between the two of them has been ongoing for 40 years.
Way baack to the early '80s Yoko discovered that Seaman had taken possession of Lennon's diaries, photographs, fan letters and previously unreleased recordings.
Seaman pleaded guilty to second-degree larceny and was ordered return those items to Lennon’s estate. It later came to light in the ‘90s that Seaman hadn’t returned them.He also published a book, The Last Days of John Lennon, which included what were alleged as “factually inaccurate” claims.
Yoko sued Seaman back in 1999.They settled in 2003 after Seaman returned the items and promised to no discuss Lennon again.
Back in September of last year, Seaman did an interview prior to the 40th anniversary of Lennon's death. Yoko filed suit again, claiming Seaman violated the 2003 agreement.
Yoko has come forward to say she’s again settled with Seaman.
The court document states that Seaman "admits that he does not have any rights in or to any photographs he took of the Lennon family and acknowledges he and his estate are perpetually enjoined from speaking about John Lennon, Yoko Ono Lennon or Sean Lennon in any capacity whatsoever including but not limited to the publication by any means, including but not limited to publishing any book or articles or otherwise publicly disclosing such information.”
Seaman has also been ordered to pay Yoko $5,000 in damages for copyright infringement – which is $145,000 less that what she was originally seeking.
[courtesy of Classic Hits Today]