Zappa Family Trust Takes New Legal Action Against Dweezil Zappa

BY Calum SlingerlandPublished Mar 13, 2017

In August, Rolling Stone publicized a highly publicized and divisive struggle between the late Frank Zappa's four children over their father's estate and legacy. Now, things are going from bad to worse due to new legal action by the Zappa Family Trust.

Zappa's youngest children Ahmet and Diva, who have majority share of the estate and helm the Zappa Family Trust, have filed legal documents asking a judge to let them start a website to refute accusations from older sibling Dweezil Zappa that they are attempting to ruin his career, TMZ reports.

Dweezil is recognized for his touring act Zappa Plays Zappa, a project that caught the ire of Ahmet and Diva due to the prominent use of the family name. According to TMZ , the newly filed documents read that Dweezil has always had the right to tour using the name, at the price of $1 plus 10 percent of gross receipts.

The documents reportedly reveal that the two younger siblings are tired of Dweezil's attitude towards their decisions, with Dweezil having notably named a 2016 run of live dates the "Cease and Desist Tour." Ahmet and Diva also apparently take issue with Dweezil allegedly soliciting fans for money to cover his legal bills.

At this point, it's unclear how the dispute will end, if ever.

Frank Zappa died in 1993. His legacy was most recently examined in Thorsten Schütte's documentary film Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words.

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