A legal battle surrounding the estate of the late Johnny Winter, a legendary blues guitarist, has been concluded by a Connecticut judge. The ruling mandates that his former managers pay $226,000 in damages due to improper payments they received following his death in 2014. Additionally, the judge has dismissed their claim to the rights of Winter’s music.
In 2020, the relatives of Winter’s late wife, Susan, took legal action against Winter’s manager, Paul Nelson, and his wife Marion. The lawsuit alleged that the Nelsons had misappropriated over $1 million from Winter’s music enterprise. However, the Nelsons refuted these accusations and countered with their own lawsuit. They argued that the relatives unjustly removed Paul Nelson as a beneficiary of Winter’s estate and claimed entitlement to the music rights.
After a trial lasting seven days, Judge Trial Referee Charles Lee found that the Nelsons had inappropriately accessed payments and withdrawn funds from Winter’s accounts. However, he dismissed accusations of fraud, mismanagement, and breach of contract. In his 54-page judgement, Lee stated the actions meriting damages were either negligent or potentially legitimate. Additionally, he dismissed the claims presented in the Nelsons’ countersuit.
The transfer of $112,000 from Winter’s business account to a personal account of Nelsons in 2019—without Susan Winter being a signatory—was deemed the most critical infraction by the judge. At the time of Winter’s death, his holdings were estimated at approximately $3 million, all owned by Susan Winter. The judge indicated the possibility of punitive damages against the Nelsons for this transaction.
Paul Nelson, who managed Johnny Winter’s affairs and performed in his band from 2005 until 2019, passed away from a heart attack in March 2024 during a music tour. Marion Nelson, who managed bookkeeping for the Winters and their music enterprise, did not respond immediately to email inquiries on Monday. Attempts to reach the Nelsons’ lawyers by phone and email were unsuccessful, and it remains uncertain if an appeal is being considered.
In October 2019, Susan Winter succumbed to lung cancer. Before her passing, she had removed Paul Nelson as the successor trustee to her family trust—comprising all of her husband’s holdings—and appointed her sister and brother, Bonnie and Christopher Warford from Charlotte, North Carolina, as trustees. Consequently, the Warfords brought a lawsuit against the Nelsons.
The Warfords’ legal representatives were similarly unreachable on Monday, and public records indicate that the Warfords no longer have active phone numbers.
Contrarily, the Nelsons contended that the Warfords exploited Susan Winter by having her sign legal papers under medication late in her life. They further claimed the Warfords strained Susan Winter’s relationship with them by making false embezzlement allegations, a claim the Warfords denied.
The court adjudicated that the Warfords were entitled to compensation for the Nelsons’ improper payments. This included $68,000 from a 2016 royalty auction of Winter’s assets, a $69,000 cash withdrawal, $18,000 in expense reimbursements, and $15,000 in additional royalty sums.
An additional $56,000 still held in one of the Nelsons’ accounts, the same account involving the criticized $112,000 transfer, was also awarded to the Warfords. In 2020, the Nelsons had moved approximately $151,000 from this account to the lawyers representing the Warfords.
Judge Lee also dismissed claims from the Warfords that Paul Nelson should not have received $300,000 from the sale of three of Johnny Winter’s guitars. The judge acknowledged that Winter had promised these guitars to Nelson.
Johnny Winter, whose full name was John Dawson Winter III, was born in Beaumont, Texas. He became a global blues sensation in the 1960s with his rapid guitar skills, iconic long white hair, and a cowboy hat. Alongside his brother Edgar, Winter, who was born with albinism, became a celebrated musician. Notably, he performed at Woodstock in 1969 and was honored in the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1988.
Rolling Stone recognized him as the 63rd greatest guitarist of all time in 2015. Over his career, Winter released more than 24 albums and received multiple Grammy nominations, ultimately posthumously winning a Grammy in 2015 for Best Blues Album for “Step Back,” produced by Nelson. This accolade also garnered Nelson a Grammy.
Winter, who spent 20 years in Easton, Connecticut, before his passing, battled heroin addiction. He credited Nelson, whom he met in 1999, with assisting his recovery from methadone and reviving his musical career. This journey was depicted in the 2014 documentary “Johnny Winter: Down & Dirty.”