The sons of legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, Oran and Ravi, succeeded in having their father’s Philadelphia home returned to the Coltrane family. Faegre Drinker represented Oran and Ravi in the ownership dispute that arose after the property was sold to the defendants’ family — despite the home being left to Oran and Ravi in their grandmother’s will — by a person with only a life estate in the home. Following some litigation, the parties reached a settlement that transferred the home back to the control of Oran Coltrane and Ravi Coltrane.
The Coltrane home is now a National Historic Landmark. Soon after the settlement was finalized, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, a project of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation announced that the Coltrane house will be the first recipient of the new Descendants and Family Stewardship Initiative to restore the home and open it to the public.
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