Ono suing former ex-lennon assistant
Yoko Ono is saying “Oh no” to a former personal assistant of her late husband John Lennon.
The 87year-old classic rock icon has filed a new lawsuit against Frederic Seaman, this time for violating a 2002 court order that prohibited him from trying to profit off Lennon’s legacy when he took part in a 23-minute interview that was “flanked with Lennon memorabilia” and discussed topics that were legally off-limits — such as his 1991 book “The Last Days of John Lennon,” his employment with the couple, and Lennon’s murder.
Ono and Seaman have been in and out of the courts dating back to the 1980s.
In 1983, the “Walking On Thin Ice” singer claimed the former aide pleaded guilty to stealing The Beatles’ legend journals.
“At the time, Mrs. Lennon believed that to be the end of her ordeal with Seaman,” Ono’s attorney, Dorothy Webber, wrote in the lawsuit, which seeks up to $150,000 in damaged. “Those representations turned out to be lies and the start of yet another scheme.”
In 1999, Ono took legal action again after Seaman again revealed he stole property that he failed to return after selling it on the memorabilia market.
In 2002, the two settled the lawsuit with Seaman agreeing to give up his copyright to hundreds of family photos of the Lennon family, and to be bound by a confidentiality agreement that he signed in 1979. He also issued a formal apology to Ono.
Of the new interview, Ono says that in that Seaman discussed releasing a revised and expanded version of his book, which would “willfully and intentionally violate” the previous court order.
She is suing Seaman for copyright infringement and breach of contract.