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Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
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Even In Death, Evel Knievel|Can’t Stay Out Of The Spotlight

CLEARWATER, FLA. (CN) - Bad breaks keep coming for Evel Knievel even in death, as two new plaintiffs claim the daredevil sold them the rights to his life story more than two decades ago. Gary and Robert Schreiber say they bought Knievel's life story and rights to all video and still footage of all his stunts in 1982.

The claim in Pinellas County Court is the second within two weeks to make claims against the Knievel estate and his widow. Krystal Kennedy-Knievel.

The Schreibers say they met Knievel in December 1982. They claim that at the time, Knievel "was in need of capital to resurrect interest in his life." He allegedly entered into a series of agreements, transferring and assigning rights to the Schreibers to "all existing and future performances by Evel."

The agreements allegedly assigned to the Schreibers all rights in Knievel's life story. The Schreibers claim they paid "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for these rights.

Sometime after the agreements were signed, Knievel allegedly "entered into a plan and scheme" with his adult son, Kelly, and transferred the rights he had sold to the Schreibers to Kelly Knievel.

The Schreibers claim that on Nov. 30, 2007, Knievel created a "wholly fictitious" letter which allegedly reassigned the rights sold to the Schreibers back to his son.

They claim that Kelly Knievel improperly allowed cable TV network TNT to use Knievel's life story as the basis for the movie "?" And they claim that in the year before his death, Knievel improperly entered into an agreement with Universal Pictures for an autobiographical movie to be called "Pure Evel."

Finally, the lawsuit claims that Knievel improperly resold the rights to his life story and likeness to a company controlled by his family, called Conant, in January 1997.

The Schreibers seek a declaration that they own the rights to Knievel's life story, his likeness, and video and still footage of his stunts. They are represented by Matthew Girardi of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and Adrian Philip Thomas of Fort Lauderdale.

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