Prince's Former Lover Sues Over Lost Gifts

LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts) - Prince and his Paisley Park Enterprises have been sued by the purple one's former girlfriend, Charlene Friend, over some gifts she received while they were dating, which she later tried to sell.

The suit, filed Friday (April 19) in Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, West District, is for defamation, tortious interference with an existing contract, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

According to the suit, when Friend and Prince were dating in 1991, she received several gifts from him, including a jacket he wore during a 1991 concert, an audiocassette, a Christmas card, a comic book, and the video "Get Off." She later tried to sell these items on Aug. 15, 2001 through Fine Arts Brokerage Service because "they no longer had any sentimental value to her," states the suit.

When Prince got word of it, his Paisley Park Enterprises attorney, Tracy Branford Bullock, sent Fine Arts a letter saying those items were acquired by fraud and/or theft from Friend and demanded that the items be removed from the auction site and threatened legal action, according to the suit.

"Because of defendant's actions, through Ms. Bullock, Fine Arts did in fact pull the items from the auction block and refused to list them for auction," states the suit. "Because of the defendant's defamatory allegations and interference with the contract between plaintiff and Fine Arts, plaintiff has been branded a thief, and has lost the ability to sell items that are her sole and legal property."

Friend claims she suffered severe physical, emotional, and psychological distress and is seeking general, punitive, and emotional distress damages in an amount to be determined by the court.