Elijah Blue Allman has demanded that his mother Cher and half-brother Chaz Bono be deposed as the family tries to get him placed under a conservatorship.
Cher requested control over Allman's finances last month due to his alleged mental health and substance abuse issues. She claims she's worried he will squander the fortune left by his late father Gregg, a founder of the Allman Brothers Band.
The news comes as the family continues its effort to place Allman under a conservatorship.
News about the possible depositions came after a judge temporarily declined Cher's request for a second time at a court hearing on Monday, Jan. 29. That followed Allman handing over several negative drug tests. He said he's been sober since October.
But yesterday's ruling was not permanent. Another hearing has been scheduled for March. The court urged the family to mediate privately the dispute before then.
Allman's demands were discussed in various court filings obtained by RadarOnline.com.
"It appears from the papers your office filed that you prefer that the narrative surrounding Cher’s petitions be about something other than a mother’s ongoing, heartfelt efforts to protect her son based on his past history of abusing drugs and endangering his own life, as well as her desire to ensure his assets are preserved for his benefit," Cher's legal team said in a Jan. 25 document.
They also floated bringing in a third party to manage the conservatorship.
"Our client and his wife have opinions about Cher’s fitness to serve in that role," Allman's lawyers said in their response.
"Such will be more fully developed when your client’s videotaped deposition is conducted, as well as those of Chaz Bono, Jennifer Ruiz, and Devon Allman, among others. As you have seen, Mr. Allman intends vigorously to oppose these petitions.
"Given your client’s professed love for her son, she should now applaud (privately – if not publicly) his progress and stand down. She should dismiss both petitions forthwith, saving the cost and spectacle of a public trial."
The letter says that if Cher doesn't want to stand down, she should send dates she's available for a deposition sometime next month.
Cher's lawyers have also claimed that the person caring for Allman is not a licensed medical doctor.
In their response, the singer's lawyers reasserted her belief that Allman's finances need to be under a conservatorship.
"You are eager to begin discovery, and that is fine, but discovery will only reveal the truth," the document says. "Here, the truth is that Elijah needs the protection of a conservatorship of the estate. Cher always applauds Elijah’s periods of sobriety. The problem is that addiction is not the only issue here. Elijah’s periods of psychosis make him vulnerable to harm."
There's another court hearing in the case scheduled for March.
In another court document filed on Jan. 26, Cher's team claimed that the person caring for Allman is "not a medical doctor" and that she has the evidence to prove it.
"In Elijah’s recent papers, he represents that he is under the care of a 'Dr. Howard Samuels.' Howard Samuels is not a medical doctor. He is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has a doctorate in clinical psychology," says the letter obtained by RadarOnline.com.
"Given Elijah’s untreated mental illness, it is important that he be under the care of a medical doctor."
Allman was once the frontman and guitarist of an alternative metal band called Deadsy. The group is best known for its single "Key to Gramercy Park."
