A federal judge has prevented the sale of Whitney Houston’s 1986 Emmy Award after the late singer’s family put it up for auction.
United States district judge Percy Anderson ordered a temporary restraining order against Heritage Auctions and Houston’s estate, which planned to sell the Emmy that Houston won 30 years ago for her Grammy performance of “Saving All My Love for You.” Anderson sided with lawyers for the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, an organization that oversees the Emmy Awards, who argued that contractually, the award belongs to the organization.
The lawyers argued that the Emmy is technically on loan to the artist who wins it and cannot be resold after the artist’s death. The Emmy can remain in the hands of Houston’s heirs, but if they do not want it, the award has to be returned to the academy for storage. Houston passed away in 2012 at age 48.
“We fought the good fight, but we respect the court’s decision,” Eric Bradley, Heritage Auctions spokesman, told the Associated Press. “As ordered, the award will be withdrawn from the auction and returned to the Houston family.”
Anderson set a July 7 hearing to extend the restraining order.
Houston’s memorabilia and other awards were put on sale Friday and earned more than $500,000, the AP reported. The top sellers were a pair of Nike Air Jordan sneakers gifted to Houston by Michael Jordan, which went for $20,000, and a Dolce & Gabbana fur coat Houston wore on stage, which sold for $16,250.
