Bunny Wailer Estate In “Hot Mess” After Executor Conflicts, DNA Testing Dispute 

There is mushrooming discontent among Bunny Wailer Estate beneficiaries about the role played by co-executor Abijah Adasenaki Livingston. 

The 13 beneficiaries have reportedly split into three factions, two of whom want to remove Abijah as executor. One of those factions is led by Abijah’s sister, Ngeri Livingston. Ngeri, who has worked with Solomonic Productions—the licensing and publishing company created by Bunny Wailer—since 2005, says that the Bunny Wailer estate is a ‘hot mess.’

“We need to step in and protect the estate now. I fought to ensure that my brother Abijah had a voice within the co-executor relationship with our uncle Carlton Livingston, and when he became executor, Abijah dropped the ball,” she told DancehallMag.

Last week, Abijah Livingston sent a release to the media stating that the family had received the green light from the Supreme Court of Jamaica to initiate the administration process since the death of the late Neville Livingston, aka Bunny Wailer. 

“The honorable court ruled on June 28th, 2024 in favour of Bunny Wailer’s 13 children recognised as the only beneficiaries of the estate,” the release said. 

The beneficiaries have been allotted 28 percent of the total estate, which includes 140 acres of land in Portland. 

“This is indeed progressive times for the estate who are keen on hitting the ground running after being delayed by a three-year litigation battle. The judge recognized Wailer’s eldest son, Abijah Asadenaki Livingston as the estate’s authorized representative,” the release said. 

Livingston became the sole executor after the death of his uncle, Carlton Livingston. Bunny Wailer, a reggae luminary and the last surviving founding member of the legendary group The Wailers, died in his native Jamaica at age 73.

The release praised the litigation skills of the law firm Nunes Scholefield, Deleon, and Company.

“We remain focused on the estate’s restoration, reproduction of our father’s vast catalogue and the revamping of our father’s record label, Solomonic Productions Ltd,” Abijah Livingston said. 

However, Ngeri said that no significant move came from the June 28 court date. 

“The only major thing that happened was that the court ruled that Maxine Stowe, with whom Abijah has been feuding, is not a beneficiary but only a creditor to the estate. Stowe had too much say as both a beneficiary and a creditor, she was trying to remove Abijah and replace him with one of our aunts, and she has no legal standing. The ruling just shows that Abijah needs to respect and honour the living trust because he cannot stop my father’s wishes,” she said. 

Stowe has been allotted a 15 percent interest and share of the Bunny Wailer estate “to continue to engage her services in the exploitation and development of the reggae star’s intellectual property rights.”  

In the release, Abijah Livingston boasted that the Solomonic Productions label had secured collaborations with major brands, including Warner Bros, Corona, Cardi B, Paramount “Pen,” and JEEP.

“We are now pleased to announce our latest collaboration with Amazon. Electric Boogie lyrics are licensed to be displayed on Amazon delivery tracks, highlighting the company’s mandate to lower their carbon footprint,” the release said.

However, Abijah’s sister, Ngeri Livingston, said that even the Amazon deal that the executor is bragging about is mired in contention. She was so upset about an agreement that created a conflict of interest that she tendered her resignation in December 2022. 

“I know the Amazon deal was executed without Abijah’s approval.  One of the beneficiaries signed an ultra vires agreement, collected money from the deal and kept it secret for several months. I saw the problems coming almost two years ago,” Ngeri explained. 

“This beneficiary was illegally added to the company, Solomonic Productions Ltd. in 2021, with guidance from a third party, a lawyer with whom Abijah later signed an exclusive licensing contract for Bunny Wailer and Solomonic Productions Ltd. entire catalogue. You see the different conflicts of interest and possible collusion? That pushed me to submit a letter of resignation from the company,” Ngeri said. 

A breakaway faction of the beneficiaries eventually executed the Amazon deal, reportedly valued at over US $400,000. This money has not been turned over to the estate.  

“Abijah only found out about this separate sync licensing deal because of my due diligence and my efforts. He knew nothing of it, he only found out about it on July 4th of this year,” Ngeri said. 

Without sharing too many sensitive details about the case, Ngeri said “an exclusive licensing agreement signed by Abijah as co-executor of the Estate, was in breach of the terms of the estate”.

“It is really a big mess that could have been avoided. There is too much conflict of interest,” she said. 

Solomonic Productions Ltd. has US assets and has been registered with the US Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

“Since this faction has refused to turn over the monies collected to the company account managed by the executor, this could be a clear case of financial impropriety, and could trigger financial enforcement investigations by the U.S Department of Treasury,” Ngeri said.  

DNA Testing

Ngeri believes that her father’s wishes regarding the use of DNA testing to ratify the beneficiaries are being frustrated. 

“They smeared the original executor, uncle Carl Livingston, and pressured him until he died and none of the 13 beneficiaries don’t want to do their DNA testing to establish if they are really heirs. They’re trying to use majority approval to avoid doing the DNA. I said excuse me, I did my DNA, they need to do theirs,” Ngeri said. 

Ngeri believes that the only way to resolve this issue is for the judges to restore sanity. “Abijah has enabled the mess, either they’re gonna remove him and appoint me or put it to the Administrator General because there is a minor involved. He has to be removed. I told him to enforce the DNA provisions, probate the trust, take care of the properties, ask for a temporary order so that we can take care of expenses,” she said. 

Ngeri believes that the contention is only damaging the future value of Bunny Wailer’s estate. “This is foolishness, only the lawyers getting paid. This is not a dolly house thing, Daddy set up his official business in a specific way a long time ago and they, his beneficiaries, come with the game playing and ah mek daddy thing look small. Bunny Wailer’s brand is huge internationally,” Ngeri said. 

The original co-executor, Carlton Livingston, applied for the probate in June 2021, but Abijah Livingston instead filed a lawsuit to remove Carlton Livingston. The dispute was turned over to mediation, but the mediation failed. Then, Carlton Livingston died in March 2023. Since that time, the probate process has still not been completed. 

“How are they making all these moves without the will being probated? The Solomonic company has its own corporate structure, so certain agreements  that are being done through the company should have been done through the estate. All of that is backfiring, I can’t say more than that now,” Ngeri said. 

Abijah Livingston did not immediately respond to DancehallMag‘s questions regarding his moves as executor of the estate. Kamarah Livingston, who is the spokesperson of a breakaway faction of the beneficiaries, also did not respond to emails or calls.  

According to a separate release from Abijah, Solomonic Productions Ltd is moving ahead to release Bunny Wailer’s music in almost a decade with ‘Rock and Groove Remastered’ on September 23, 2024. 

The album, featuring household hits like Cool Runnings, Ballroom Floor, and Rootsman Skanking will be available on all streaming platforms and on limited edition vinyl. 

“The release date has deep relevance as September 23rd is the same day of Solomonic Productions Ltd’s incorporation in 1981 and the birthday of Bunny Wailer’s wife, Jean Watt, who has been missing since May 23, 2020 and who is one of the company’s directors,” the release said. 

“We the family remain focused on the preservation and promotion of our father’s iconic legacy, while continuing the never-ending search for our beloved stepmother, Sister Jean Watt, it’s what Don Dada would want,” he said. 

Ngeri said that even this upcoming musical release has not been adequately discussed within the framework of the family and Bunny Wailers’ heirs.

She believes that the announcement of the release is just a smokescreen to hide the proper administrative moves that are not being done to protect the estate. “We need to set our house in order, all this back and forth over the Amazon deal, and side deals have created a situation where they have damaged the company’s credibility and put the Estate at risk,” she said.