Spoon-bending London "psychic" Uri Geller and two partners lost their bid in federal court Tuesday to overturn the sale of Elvis Presley's former house on Audubon Drive in East Memphis.
Geller and his partners bid $905,100 for the house in an eBay auction in 2006, but the contract was not completed. Geller's group made changes to the contract, delaying the sale when they marked out a provision giving owners Cindy Hazen and Mike Freeman 60 days to move from the property.
When negotiations for a closing date postponed the sale, Hazen and Freeman then decided to sell the house for $1 million to Nashville record producer Mike Curb, who then worked with Rhodes College to use the home as part of a new Mike Curb Music Institute.
U.S. Dist. Judge Jon McCalla said the eBay auction was not a binding sale because eBay auctions specifically advertise themselves as vehicles "for sellers to advertise their real estate and meet potential buyers." Even if it were a contract, McCalla said Geller and his partners would have breached it when they altered the closing terms after the sale.
Hazen said, "I'm relieved that this is all over and, given that Uri and his partners were malicious, I am delighted that Mike Curb and Rhodes College own the property."