Amy Helm Was Ousted From Levon Helm Studios in ‘Illegal Takeover,’ New Lawsuit Claims

Daughter of late Band drummer seeks to be reinstated as president and director of the famed Woodstock venue

Levon Helm‘s daughter Amy has filed a new lawsuit claiming she was improperly ousted from Levon Helm Studio earlier this year in what she describes as an “illegal takeover” of the Woodstock venue.

The lawsuit centers around the alleged actions of Brian Parillo, a local musician and friend of Levon Helm’s, who was given a 10 percent shareholder stake in Levon Helm Studios (also known as the Barn), when it was incorporated in the mid-2000s. Parillo was put in charge of the Barn earlier this year with the backing of both Helm’s widow (and Amy’s stepmother), Sandra “Sandy” Helm, and Levon’s former manager, Barbara O’Brien (another minority shareholder). 

According to the new lawsuit, Parillo’s “illegal takeover of LHS was achieved through a series of invalid corporate acts.” First, in June 2025, the suit claims that Parillo convinced Sandy and “another shareholder” to join him in signing a shareholder consent to remove Amy as director of LHS. Then, in late May and early June, the suit claims Parillo got Sandy to step down as director of LHS and assign Parillo her voting rights. (Sandy is not named as a defendant.) 

“Every one of these corporate acts is void,” the lawsuit claims. It states that LHS’ Certificate of Incorporation “does not permit shareholders to act by written consent of fewer than all shareholders,” and Amy “never signed any of the consents.” A shareholder meeting was never “noticed or held,” the suit adds.

Reps for Parillo and Levon Helm Studios did not immediately return a request for comment.

The lawsuit further alleges that these moves should be considered void “because Parillo produced them through undue influence over a vulnerable person who lacked the ability to understand the nature and consequences.” Specifically, the lawsuit claims Parillo “coerced” Sandy into signing the 2025 shareholder consent agreement after Amy alleged, in a separate matter, that Sandy had “misappropriated… hundreds of thousands of dollars” in Levon Helm estate assets.

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With the new lawsuit, Amy said she is seeking to “reassert control of LHS,” asking for an order that would remove Parillo and recognize her as director and president. She also wants the court to declare Parillo’s actions void, and state he had no authority to bring a federal lawsuit that was filed against Amy in August. 

The new lawsuit marks a significant escalation in the dispute over the Barn, which burst into public view earlier this year. In previous court filings related to the Helm estate matter, Amy claimed that Sandy was susceptible to manipulation and accused Parillo of “financial exploitation and elder abuse.” She also suggested that, during a confrontation at the Barn after the shareholder meeting, Sandy expressed regret over backing Parillo and said she’d been “conned.” 

Sandy has denied Amy’s claims and has continued to voice support for Parillo. Parillo has also denied this, accusing Amy of denying him and other LHS shareholders access to corporate records. 

In August, the Barn’s new management team sued Amy, accusing her of financial mismanagement during her tenure as president between 2017 and 2026. The suit claimed that a recent review of LHS’ financial records “uncovered millions of dollars of self-dealing transactions apparently authorized by Amy, or for her benefit.”

According to the suit, Amy charged $400,000 to LHS to cover everything from touring expenses to “personal tax repayments, her health and life insurance, her driver, her personal lawyer’s fees,” and more. Of this $400,000, the suit claims that $167,000 was “apparently so unrelated to the company” that Helm’s accountant (also named as a defendant) couldn’t “justify them as legitimate expenses” and categorized them as “Due from Amy.” 

At the time, Amy released a statement saying, “I unilaterally deny any and all of these baseless, spurious allegations.” 

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After Amy’s ouster from the barn, many artists canceled shows at the venue, citing solidarity with Helm’s daughter. Since then, the Barn only hosted a pair of concerts from guitarist and singer, Laith Al-Saadi, in late September.