Faegre Drinker Team Achieves Successful Settlement for Coltrane Family, Securing Possession of Historic Home in Philadelphia

In March 2024, a cross-office, cross-practice group team of Faegre Drinker attorneys, led by business litigation partner Oderah Nwaeze, were successful in having John Coltrane’s Philadelphia home (the “Coltrane House”) returned to the Coltrane family (Faegre Drinker’s clients). 

According to a lawsuit filed by Oran and Ravi, John Coltrane’s sons, their grandmother left the Coltrane House to them in her will. Despite that fact, the property was sold to the Defendants’ family by a person with only a life estate in the Coltrane House. After some litigation, the parties reached a settlement that transferred the Coltrane House back to Oran Coltrane and Ravi Coltrane. 

The Coltrane House 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. You can read more about it here.

The team representing Oran and Ravi Coltrane also included real estate partners David Ebby and Reuben Asia, corporate attorneys Brett Seifried and Bryan Bloom, litigation associate Henry Grabbe, and former Faegre Drinker attorney Taylor Harrison.

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.