Auditor to help Kings catalog MLK love letters

A Fulton County Superior Court judge decided Tuesday to appoint an auditor to work with both sides in the dispute over who has rights to love letters between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his late wife, Coretta Scott King.

The three living children of the civil rights icon were in court Tuesday to determine whether the letters and other “intimate correspondence” should be turned over to be used in an autobiography of Mrs. King.

Joey Ivansco / jivansco@ajc.com

Dexter King listens to remarks from his lawyer.

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Dexter King has negotiated a $1.4 million book contract, but Bernice King has refused to hand over the letters, photos and other personal papers found in Mrs. King’s home after her death in 2006. She and Martin Luther King III say their mother had severe reservations about the Rev. Barbara Reynolds, the journalist-turned minister who would co-write the autobiography using her taped conversations with Mrs. King. And they say their brother is shutting them out as head of the family corporation that controls the rights to their father’s work.

But time is of the essence for Dexter King and that corporation, King Inc. The book publisher, Penguin Group, has said it will cancel the contract if the papers aren’t in hand by Friday.

Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville decided to rely on an auditor, or “special master,” in the terminology of the courts. Attorney William B. Hill, Jr., a former Superior Court judge in Atlanta, is to help the siblings catalog all love letters, photos and other correspondence that might be used to compile the book.

That won’t be easy, said Jock Smith, an attorney for Bernice King and Martin Luther King III. The materials are scattered over 100 boxes found among Mrs. King’s possessions after she died. Bernice King had been ordered to bring the papers to court Tuesday. But given the quantity, most of the boxes remained in a warehouse, Smith said during a break. Guards were prepared to bring them to court at a moment’s notice, he said.

Nicole Wade, an attorney for King Inc., protested to Judge Glanville, saying the special master might have trouble fighting any stall tactics. “The plaintiffs don’t want the deal to go forward,” Wade said. “They would like to delay it past Friday.”

But Glanville said he must have a better idea of what materials are in dispute before he can consider King Inc.’s request for a temporary restraining order that would force Bernice King to relinquish the papers. “We don’t know what we’re going to fight over,” Glanville said.

Upon entering the courtroom, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III greeted supporters with hugs and winks. Then they walked over to their brother and shook his hand. Bernice didn’t speak. Martin Luther King uttered a perfunctory “How are you doing?” to his expressionless brother.

Later, outside the courthouse, Dexter King said he was as disappointed as anyone in Tuesday’s spectacle. He pointed out that it was his siblings who initiated the litigation in July, accusing him of mismanagement and not including them in family business matters.

“I’m hoping and praying that they will come to their senses,” Dexter said, “and realize this is not in the spirit of our parents.”

Glanville deferred a ruling in a separate hearing, held earlier Tuesday, to decide whether lawyers for King Inc. can continue to represent the corporation in its court battle against Bernice King and Martin Luther King III. Glanville said he closed the hearing because information protected by attorney-client privilege could be discussed. A lawyer representing the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV argued against the closing.

Reynolds, who is to finish the autobiography, said she is having second thoughts about the book deal that would pay her $200,000 and King Inc. $1.2 million plus royalties. She met Mrs. King in the mid-1970s, when she wrote articles about The King Center in Atlanta for the Chicago Tribune. Reynolds had hoped to do the book with the blessings of all the children, not watch it fuel more litigation between them. She said she could do a biography on her own without the letters.

Dexter King said his mother indicated before her death that she wanted the love letters published. Kept in a suitcase beneath her bed, they would enhance — not damage — his parents’ legacy, he said. “They’ll tell us more about their relationship, the private part people don’t know about.”

He and King Inc. have centered their case on a 1995 agreement signed by Mrs. King and all the children. It gives the corporation the rights to any property involving Martin Luther King, Jr., they say.

Bernice King and Martin Luther King III did not comment publicly at the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, but they counter that they’re the ones being excluded. They say their brother negotiated the book deal behind their backs and can’t be trusted with their mother’s personal papers. Bernice King has held on to them as administrator of her mother’s estate.

Dexter King said he hopes whatever the result of the litigation, it can be followed by healing.

“I think you can always rebuild,” he said. “We do love each other … I think ultimately that will prevail.”