The siblings of deceased music legend Prince are considering filing a wrongful death action over the 2016 demise of the “1999” singer. However, they say that authorities are stonewalling them on providing information they need to determine whether they should pursue the claim.
Legal papers filed in Minnesota on Tuesday say that Prince’s trustees, which are made up of his surviving siblings, are attempting to investigate his death “so that they can determine whether to commence a wrongful death action.”
However, the papers state, Carver County, Minnesota, where Prince resided, denied their request for investigative data, and now the siblings are seeking an order releasing the data to them.
According to the papers, the County says that the requested information is confidential, and that the release of information being sought from the medical examiner in particular might impede the ongoing investigation into the singer’s death.
However, the legal papers argue, the trustees and their attorneys “will not disclose the data to anyone, absent a court order.”
The papers also say that the trustees are seeking a “very narrow disclosure,” requesting that the information only be disclosed to their attorneys.
The trustees “respectfully ask this Court to order the Carver County Sheriff’s Office, Medical Examiner’s Office and the County Attorney to produce all investigative dara in their possessions related to the death of Mr. Nelson,” the papers read, referring to the singer by his last name.
The papers do not say who the trustees might be considering filing a wrongful death claim against.
TheWrap has reached out to Carver County for comment.
Prince died at age 57 in April 2016 at his Minnesota residence. The medical examiner determined that the singer died from an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.