Stan Lee gets 3-year restraining order against ex-adviser
FILE – In this June 28, 2017 file photo, Stan Lee arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Lee’s restraining order against a former business manager has been extended for three years. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved the move Friday, aug. 17, 2018, ordering Keya Morgan to stay away from the Marvel Comics mogul and his family. Image: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File
LOS ANGELES — Stan Lee’s restraining order against a former business manager was extended for three years on Friday, in another apparent step toward stability for the Marvel Comics mogul after a tumultuous year.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered Keya Morgan to stay away from the Marvel Comics mogul and his family members, making permanent a previous temporary restraining order that Lee’s lawyers had received.
The 95-year-old Lee has been the subject of a power struggle involving his daughter, Morgan, and others who sought roles in his life and business after the death last year of Lee’s wife, Joan, who was his de facto manager and closest adviser.
Lee’s lawyer Jonathan Freund told The Associated Press that Lee and his family are pleased he can move forward with his life and get on with his work “without being bothered or harassed.”
Morgan, a film producer with a hand in many parts of the entertainment business, gained control over Lee’s business for several months this year, until elder abuse allegations emerged from Lee’s attorneys and police opened an investigation into the issue. Morgan has not been charged with elder abuse, but he has been charged with reporting a false emergency for calling 911 when a social worker and detectives came to check on Lee.
The restraining order request also alleges he embezzled millions in assets from Lee.
Morgan’s attorney Alex Kessel told the AP that his client has done nothing harmful to Lee. “He never has, and he never will,” Kessel said.
Morgan has previously adamantly denied he ever had bad intentions with Lee, who he says is a cherished friend.
With Morgan’s ouster, Lee’s daughter J.C. Lee and her attorneys returned as the main managers of Lee’s affairs.
Freund said Le, who co-created the Incredible Hulk, Spider Man, and much of Marvel’s comic and cinematic universe, is creating comic characters again, and his previously deteriorating health is improving.
“He’s doing better every day,” Freund said. MKH
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