Tony Bennett’s two daughters, Antonia and Johanna, are suing their brother, D’Andrea “Danny” Bennett. They claim he mishandled and didn’t disclose some of their father’s assets while serving as the trustee of the late singer’s estate.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in New York, accuses Danny Bennett of not accounting for all the money from this year’s sale of Tony Bennett’s music catalog and certain image rights to a company called Iconoclast.
The court filing says that “it remains unclear what music assets (and other property) were or were not sold as part of the deal” because the sisters “have not been provided with various details of the transaction despite repeated requests.”
Danny Bennett, who was Tony’s manager and runs the family trust, didn’t respond on Thursday to an email and phone message asking for his comment on the lawsuit. The lawsuit also named another brother, Daegal “Dae” Bennett, and Tony’s widow, Susan Benedetto.
The lawsuit further claims that Danny Bennett “obtained personal benefits for himself and his company” from transactions, including the sale of memorabilia, made on behalf of Tony Bennett, the family trust, and Benedetto Arts LLC.
The sisters are seeking unspecified “equitable relief” and a full accounting and inventory of the trust. They are demanding that Danny Bennett turn over receipts, disbursements, expenditures, and tax returns.
“Although Danny and his counsel have provided piecemeal information and produced some documents to petitioners’ counsel, the information provided raises more questions than answers and fails to provide anything close to an accounting of Tony’s assets and financial affairs,” the court filing said.
Tony Bennett, a legendary singer known for his interpretations of classic American songs and for creating new standards like “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” passed away last July at the age of 96. There was no specific cause of death, but Bennett had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2016.
Over the course of his career, Bennett released more than 70 albums and won 19 competitive Grammy Awards.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.