Earlier post about Ballou lawsuit and history of King children. Contains copy of original complaint.
WLBT news anchor Howard Ballou asked a federal court Friday to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The estate filed a lawsuit seeking the return of various documents and letters from Dr. King it claims are in his possession.* Mr. Ballou's mother was the long-time personal secretary for Dr. King.
Mr. Ballou's motion for summary judgment argues the court should dismiss the lawsuit because the ownership of the documents is not an issue. The memorandum in support of the motion claims "The documents, which are the subject of the litigation, were personally given to Maude Ballou by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." and that the civil rights hero had the right to dispose of his property as he wished. Since the documents are her property, she can dispose of them as she wishes, including giving them to her son. The memo argues the estate had over 18 years to "discover the existence of these documents" and any statute of limitations would have expired in December 2010 (three years after their discovery).
Maude Ballou, 86 year-old mother of Howard Ballou, made the following statements in an affidavit (posted below. See pages 7-10. The affidavit is part of a deposition.) The documents were a gift and referred to several as "her personal belongings that were given to me by him." When asked if this was normal practice she replied "Its been so long, All I know is he gave them to me and said here, Maude, this is for you. Thats it." She also stated the documents wound up at the library as her husband worked at the school and would take them with him to work. He became very sick, was hospitalized, and died while the documents were still at the university. Mrs. Ballou said there was no intent to leave them with the school. She reiterated the documents were hers and Dr. King never intended for her to give them back.
The King Estate filed a motion to strike Mr. Ballou's request for summary judgment. The plaintiff's claim discovery has not taken place and thus the summary judgment motion is premature or if denied, allow the plaintiff so it can conduct discovery before the court rules on the motion. The estate argues there are several factual issues that must be explored such as true ownership of the documents and Dr. King's intent.
*The lawsuit claims the items in Mr. Ballou's possession are:
1. A sermon by Dr. King from May 17, 1956 entitled "The Death of Evil Upon the Sea Shore."
2. A transcript of Dr. King's statement the day after the Supreme Court ruled bus segregation was unconstitutional.
3. November 26,1956 newsletter written by Dr. King about the "events related to the Montgomery Bus Boycott".
4. Transcript of Dr. King's speech at Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery Alabama on December 3,1956.
5. "A handwritten letter to Mrs. Ballou, signed by Rosa Parks on April 29,1957, "regarding the work of the MIA".
6. Transcript of Dr. King's statement after being arrested in Montgomery, Alabama in 1958 for loitering.
7. "Undated 'Message from the President' authored by Dr. King as the President of the SCLC, bearing Dr. King's signature."
8. "Handwritten letters to Maude Ballou" from Dr. King while overseas regarding his work at the MIA.
9. Transcript of Dr. King's speech to the MIA on December 3, 1959.
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