Legal fight over new Memphis Brooks Museum to carry on with land ownership hearing

On Friday, Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson dismissed all but one claim in the lawsuit against the new Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

That remaining claim, on the issue of who owns the land, will be argued during a declaratory judgment hearing.

Friends of Our Riverfront attorney Edward Bearman said the decision will now streamline the case as it looks to who has ownership and rights to the “promenade.”

The new museum is under construction along Front Street in Downtown.

The museum was sued by a group called Friends for Our Riverfront, which claimed 200 years of legal precedent was misunderstood and that the city did not have the authority to build the new museum on a specific piece of land referred to as “the promenade.”

Friends for Our Riverfront was joined in the lawsuit by people tracing their ancestry to Memphis’ founders, referred to as the “heirs” in legal documents. The founders — including former President Andrew Jackson, John Overton and James Winchester — came to the city and claimed acres of land.

Memphis was originally home to the Chickasaw Nation before the tribe was forcibly removed.

The promenade has historically been managed by the City of Memphis through an easement. Those suing the city and museum argued that the city should not be building on the property because it belongs to citizens. Doing so, they argued, violates residents’ property rights.

Jefferson, in September 2023, had granted a temporary restraining order against the museum’s construction, temporarily halting work. That order came with a $1 million bond, which the “heirs” and Friends for Our Riverfront never posted.

In June 2024, Jefferson denied a temporary injunction against the museum, allowing construction to resume. Jefferson cited the unpaid bond as her primary reason for denying the injunction.

The new Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has been touted as the boldest Downtown Memphis project since the FedExForum’s construction. The museum, a 122,000-square-foot space with free public access, is expected to open in 2026.

Until the Downtown facility opens, its original location in Overton Park will remain open. The museum was founded in 1916.

Commercial Appeal reporter Neil Strebig contributed to this report.

Lucas Finton covers crime, policing, jails, the courts and criminal justice policy for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached by phone or email: (901)208-3922 and Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, and followed on X @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Brooks Museum lawsuit heads to ownership hearing