Commercial Real Estate in Memphis and our Galaxy

Previously, on "The Fight for Elvis' house that's not Graceland…"

From The Commercial Appeal, here's the latest:

Geller and one partner, New York attorney Peter Gleason, cried foul, claiming their high bid was unfairly rejected only because a higher offer came along. Hazen (The Seller) said the bid was discarded after Gleason made contractual changes in the closing papers, then could not be reached for two weeks while they tried to close the sale. "At the end of two weeks we did not have an agreement. It made me question their commitment or ability to follow through with the sale. This is not a decision we made lightly," says Hazen.

When the sale to Curb closed Friday, Gleason responded by reopening an old wound for Hazen and Freeman. He hired a Memphis attorney to see that a closed bankruptcy case involving Hazen and Freeman would be reopened. The couple, who recently divorced, had filed for bankruptcy in September 2005, and the case was discharged in February 2006, excusing them of about $43,000 in debt. In the petition, they listed the value of their home at its appraised value of about $236,000.

That's the home that just sold for $1,000,000. In their backruptcy proceedings they said it was worth 1/4 of that.

The bankruptcy trustee, Barbara R. Loevy, filed a motion this week to reopen the case. In it, she said, "The debtors had the unique knowledge of the true nature and value of the property and withheld this information from the Trustee."

Geller and Gleason's Memphis attorney, Douglas Alrutz, said Gleason's role in stirring the legal pot was not an act of vengeance. "It's doing the right thing for their (Hazen's and Freeman's) creditors," Alrutz said.

"Not an act of vengeance"? Right. The only people who believe that are the people who think Uri really bends those spoons with his mind.

Hazen, however, said, "I think it says a lot about Uri Geller and Peter Gleason that they want to dwell on the pain we've been through in the past year."

You're the ones who used and abused Uri Gellar and the honor system of eBay real estate, buddy. You get dirty quick when you play in the mud.

Now I'm following the story like a big long car wreck. I want to look away, but I just can't.