Superstar singer Cher has dropped her lawsuit seeking a court-ordered conservatorship over her son after reaching a private settlement with Elijah Blue Allman, her only child with the late musician Gregg Allman, the singer’s lawyers told a California judge on Friday.
“I am pleased to report that following mediation (with two private judges), the parties have resolved this matter privately and the petitioner wishes to conclude this legal process,” Cher’s lawyer, Gabriel Vidal, told the court. He said Cher wants the petition dismissed without prejudice, meaning she reserves the right to refile if necessary. Cher first sought conservatorship over Elijah’s estate in December, arguing it was “urgently necessary” to protect him. In court filings, Cher said her son is “currently unable to manage his assets due to serious mental illness and substance abuse issues.”
Asked by the court Friday whether he agreed with Vidal’s statement that the matter was resolved, Allman’s lawyer, Steven K. Bloomer, said, “I definitely agree.”
“I don’t have the documents, but I can accept your argument on behalf of your client that you want to withdraw the petition. I will be dismissing the petition without prejudice,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Jessica Uzcategui said. “Congratulations to everyone. Stay well.”
Following the ruling, Allman’s law firm, Cage & Miles, released a statement saying: “This ruling allows the parties to focus on repairing and rebuilding family ties, a process that began during mediation and continues today.”
Neither Cher nor Allman appeared at the brief hearing at a downtown Los Angeles courthouse after they agreed in May to “pause” their public legal battle and work to resolve their dispute privately.
At the case’s initial hearing in January of last year, Cher’s lawyers sought an emergency ruling that would give them control over Allman’s assets ahead of expected distributions from his father’s estate. The ruling was denied, with the argument that Allman should be given time to consider and respond to his mother’s claims. Cher appeared via video at a rehearing three weeks later, but conservatorship was again denied pending a larger hearing.
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Allman, 48, appeared in person at two hearings and opposed her mother’s motion. At a third hearing in March, Cher was granted an adjournment to gather her medical records, and her lawyer said she was willing to pay for private mediation in the meantime if Allman agreed to participate. “Cher would very much like the opportunity to ensure that she has exhausted all possible avenues to resolve this matter privately,” Vidal told the court.
Cher’s lawyers said Cher was genuinely concerned for her son’s safety because his struggle with addiction was compounded by a mental illness diagnosis “leading to periods of psychosis.” Vidal said Allman had been involuntarily hospitalized multiple times, including in September 2023. Cher feared her son’s “life was in danger” and that he was too vulnerable to safely manage the estimated $120,000 inheritance he receives annually, the lawyers said.
“The concern is that if he accesses this substance during a time of stress it will lead to drug use. This action was brought because Cher has been specifically told by his treating doctors that if she, as a mother, did not take this step he would end up back on the streets,” Vidal previously told the court.
“There’s no question that Cher’s request is motivated by concern for her son,” Judge Jessica Uzcategui said in January. “I also understand the likely overlapping issues around substance abuse and mental health that have affected potential conservates in the past. I don’t think he has any doubt about that, and I see that acknowledged in some of the filings,” she said. But the concerns weren’t “sufficient evidence,” she said, and while she denied Cher’s emergency request, she didn’t deny the underlying petition.
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In court documents, Allman acknowledged he had struggled with drug addiction but said he tested negative for drugs and alcohol during a series of voluntary tests he took in January. He told the court he was in the process of renting a new residence and hiring a business manager. “Two weeks since the initial hearing, I have successfully managed my income and expenses and have refrained from using illegal drugs which have been the cause of incidents that have concerned my mother,” Allman previously wrote. “I am doing well and do not require the assistance my mother is providing.”
Throughout the trial, Cher and her lawyers have said she just wanted to protect her son. “Plaintiff has worked tirelessly to get Elijah into treatment and the help he needs,” Cher’s initial complaint states. “Plaintiff loves Elijah dearly and has always acted in his best interests.”
