And, of course, the earning potential of Michael Jackson.
Those are some of the elements in the latest trial over Jackson and his financial legacy: a wrongful-death civil suit, begun this week in Los Angeles, that pits Jackson’s family against the company behind the concerts Jackson had been preparing for when he died in June 2009.
In the suit, Jackson’s mother, Katherine, and his three children accuse the Anschutz Entertainment Group, or A.E.G., of negligence and breach of contract by hiring Conrad Murray, the doctor who administered the anesthetics that killed him.
The suit seeks damages of what Jackson could have earned if he had lived. Kevin Boyle, a lawyer for the Jacksons, said that “economic experts will testify that the loss of earning capacity is approximately $1 billion to $5 billion, based primarily on A.E.G. projections.”
A.E.G. denies the accusations and contends that Dr. Murray was hired by Jackson himself. In a separate criminal trial, Dr. Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in 2011, and is serving a four-year prison sentence.
The company faces risk whether it wins or loses the case. While Jackson’s indiscretions are now well known, and were laid out in Dr. Murray’s televised trial, A.E.G. has less of a public profile and is being cast as a villain. In the court of public opinion, at least, it may find little sympathy.
“A.E.G. is in a no-win situation,” said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert industry trade magazine Pollstar. “Katherine Jackson and family are trying to paint A.E.G. as a soulless corporation that was exploiting Michael. No matter what the court decides, some people will refuse to accept the verdict.”
A.E.G., owned by the billionaire Philip Anschutz, has sports and entertainment properties around the world, including Staples Center and in Los Angeles and O2 Arena in London. The company was put up for sale last year, but withdrawn last month, reportedly because the bids were lower than the $8 billion to $10 billion that Mr. Anschutz wanted.
The civil case against the company hinges on who hired Dr. Murray. The Jackson family says that A.E.G. hired him for $150,000 a month, and pressured Dr. Murray to get Jackson ready for the concerts without regard to Jackson’s health. A.E.G. says that Jackson insisted on Dr. Murray, and that any payment was only an advance that would be paid by Jackson.
Either way, the case highlights how Jackson’s business was conducted differently from that of most stars.
“Outside rarefied artists doing rarefied deals with monolithic entertainment companies, one would not generally see this sort of claim arise from a recording agreement or other engagement agreement with an artist,” said Kenneth J. Abdo, a music industry lawyer who represents artists.
Nearly four years after Jackson’s death, the case and the news media’s coverage of it demonstrate the public’s continued fascination with Jackson, and with the lurid side of the entertainment business.
During his life, Jackson was acquitted in a child molesting trial, and his various exploits — plastic surgery, traveling with a chimpanzee — made him a regular target of gossip. But the circumstances of his death, coming just as he was trying to revive his career and rebuild his finances, have bolstered his value as a brand, said Jo Piazza, the author of the book “Celebrity, Inc.: How Famous People Make Money.”
“The fact that he died in the midst of a redemption narrative not only makes him endlessly fascinating,” Ms. Piazza said, “but has made him much more lucrative in death than he was at the end of his life.”
Jackson’s estate, saddled with more than $500 million in debt at his death, has been stabilized through an array of music deals with Cirque du Soleil, the film “Michael Jackson’s This Is It,” a video game, merchandising and other projects. In a court filing last May, the estate said it had gross earnings of $475 million since Jackson’s death.
The civil case is expected to last three months and may involve testimony from stars like Diana Ross, Prince and Quincy Jones.
The judge in the case, Yvette M. Palazuelos of Los Angeles Superior Court, has barred cameras, but CNN and NBCUniversal have asked her to reconsider, and an order is expected soon.
Jury selection began on Tuesday and may continue through the week. Potential jurors were given a 25-page form that asked them 123 questions, including, “Did you hear, read or see anything in the media about Michael Jackson’s death?”
The trial is being held in a courtroom with a gallery with only 45 seats, with just a few available to the public through a daily lottery. Most of the rest are reserved for reporters and lawyers.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/business/media/jury-selection-continues-in-trial-on-jacksons-death.html?partner=rss&emc=rss