SOUTH CAROLINA — The education charity of music legend James Brown has been sidelined by lawsuit after lawsuit since his death in 2006.
In federal courts and state courts for 13 years, his “maybe wife” and several children have fought for control of his 900+ copyrights — which Brown gave not to them, but to his “I Feel Good” Trust for “needy and deserving” students in South Carolina and Georgia.
It now appears the South Carolina Supreme Court may make 13 a lucky number for the students James Brown wanted to help.
The Supreme Court, at a Brown-related hearing in October, expressed frustration that a directive in the Court’s 2013 Wilson v. Dallas opinion has been ignored, as has Brown’s charity.
“Has one scholarship been given pursuant to Mr. Brown’s will? Or are the only people who have gotten any money the lawyers?” Chief Justice Donald Beatty said. “That is quite bothersome, considering the will was clear.”
No accounting for Brown’s education trust has ever been made public, but his estate has paid “tens of millions” in litigation costs, according to court filings in a federal lawsuit between several of Brown’s children and “maybe wife” Tommie Rae Hynie (Brown).
The October hearing addressed the question of whether Brown was married to Hynie (Brown) at his death. He and Tommie Rae exchanged vows in 2001, but her 1999 marriage to Javed Ahmed of Pakistan was not annulled until 2004.
In a 2013 opinion, the Supreme Court issued a directive that pre-nuptial agreements be considered carefully.
“We’ve not seen that discussed at any point in time. This is concerning to this court. It was specifically mentioned in our last opinion,” Chief Justice Beatty said.
The attorney for Hynie (Brown) informed the Court the pre-nuptial agreement would not hold up because assets had not been disclosed to his client. Yet, in the agreement she signed Nov. 27, 2001, Hynie (Brown) acknowledged she was “fully acquainted with the business and resources” of James Brown and all questions about his income and assets had been answered.
When Brown discovered Hynie’s first marriage, he vowed never to marry her and filed for annulment. As a condition of their reconciliation, she signed an agreement she would never claim to be even Brown’s common-law wife.
Columbia attorney David Sojourner was paid $1.5 million to defend the estate against the spousal claim of Hynie (Brown), but he did not attempt to enforce the pre-nuptial agreement, did not call Hynie (Brown) to testify under oath, and did not present evidence that refuted her spousal claim at the hearing.
In 2015, the Aiken Court ruled she was Brown’s wife, a decision that was originally appealed by several of Brown’s children and the estate, but in 2017 Hynie (Brown) reached a settlement agreement with Sojourner and the estate trustee, Columbia CPA Russell Bauknight.
The estate now supports the spousal claim of Hynie (Brown). Under her settlement agreement, she agreed to give the charity a percentage of her royalty proceeds. The children of Brown have claimed there is a “secret side deal” between the estate and Hynie (Brown), and when the estate refused to reveal the terms, they sued in federal court.
When asked by the Court if the settlement were contingent on Hynie (Brown) being found the lawful wife of James Brown, her attorney Alan Medlin answered, “Not exactly.”
The Court’s ruling on Brown’s marital status will have an impact on Brown’s education charity. A surviving spouse receives a half-interest in certain rights under the Federal Copyright Act, and children (acknowledged or DNA-proven) divide the remaining half-interest.
Attorneys for Hynie (Brown) argued before the Supreme Court that the charity would have no funding if the Court did not declare their client to be Brown’s wife, because the Brown children have not pledged any portion of their copyright proceeds to the “I Feel Good” Trust.
According to pleadings in another Brown-related case, filed against former trustee Adele Pope, the Federal Copyright Act does not give rights related to non-U.S. royalties or publicity rights to Brown’s heirs. Non-U.S. sources account for about half of Brown’s royalties, according to copyright expert Roger Miller of New York.
The value of Brown’s music empire has been much disputed. Current trustee Bauknight filed documents with the IRS that claimed the value of Brown’s 900+ copyrights and publicity rights was $4.7 million. He has since testified in an Aiken lawsuit that royalties bring in $3-4 million a year.
Brown’s will had a provision that anyone who contested the will, receives nothing. Hynie (Brown) and five of six children named in the will contested, and all six signed on to a settlement in 2009 that gave will contestants over half of what Brown left to charity.
It was the 2009 settlement the Supreme Court overturned in its Wilson v. Dallas opinion, saying the settlement was a “dismemberment” of Brown’s estate plan.
No decision has been made on Brown’s marital status, but it appears the Supreme Court thinks the time has come for closure.
“This is an old case, we want to dispose of it today. It has a tortuous history,” said Chief Justice Donald Beatty in his opening remarks.
Perhaps, needy students in South Carolina and Georgia can hope, after 13 years, that the promise of James Brown’s “I Feel Good” Trust will be kept—at last.