Howard Ballou, anchor, WLBT, Jackson, Miss.
JACKSON, MS (WXIA) - A Mississippi television anchor wants a federal judge to toss out a lawsuit brought by the estate of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. seeking documents tied to King.
The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in September against WLBT-TV anchor Howard Ballou. The suit says Ballou's mother worked as a secretary for King between 1955 and 1960 and kept documents while King led the Montgomery Improvement Association and the SCLC.
In Ballou's response to the suit, he said his parents were personal friends of King, and that his father and King were fraternity brothers. He said the letters, photographs and other items in his possession were gifts and rightfully belong to his family.
Late last week, Ballou's attorney filed a motion for summary judgment in the case, reiterating that the material belongs to his family.
King's estate says in court records that the motion for summary judgment is premature, and wants the motion denied or continued until the materials can be studied and catalogued. The suit says the documents do not belong to the Ballou family because they were obtained as a part of her employment by King.