Michael Jackson Estate demand of transaction objected by Katherine Jackson




If you recall, at the end of last year we talked about The Michael Jackson Estate filed a petition seeking aproval of a business transaction .

To recap, in their motion, Branca and McClain asked the court to approve a “proposed transaction.” They said they “now have an opportunity which they believe is to the substantial advantage of the Estate and in the best interest of the beneficiaries.”

The executors filed the details of the deal under seal. However, they noted, “The executors believe they have the power and authority to enter into the Proposed Transaction pursuant to the Order Authorizing Operation of the MJJ Business as the Proposed Transaction is within and in furtherance of the operation of the MJJ Business, as well under Michael Jackson’s will.”

But Katherine Jackson and her lawyer just filed a confidential objection to the request.

Katherine asked that her motion be sealed by the court because it “contains sensitive information regarding Ms. Jackson’s family and private life.”

Her lawyer argued that if the filing was made public it would lead to this “sensitive information being widely disseminated in the media.” Further, he said, “Because of Michael’s fame, his surviving family remains in the public eye, facing intense media scrutiny. The family’s affairs are reported in tabloids and spread across the internet.”

Katherine then filed a 7-page objection under seal.

Back in November, we speculated that this was maybe about the Biopic but as the Biopic is underway and all agreed, this is clearly not the case here. We can only think of one “transaction” that the Estate is filing for and that recently made the news: the sale of Michael Jackson Catalog.

And if this is the case, it is clear that the family doesn’t want the catalog to be sold.

As all court documents are sealed from both parties, it is hard to know the exact terms of the “transaction” and what it is.

To be continued…

Quelle: mjvibe.com

The Estate of Michael Jackson wants judge to dismiss Katherine Jackson’s objection



Last November, the Estate of Michael Jackson asked permission to the court to go ahead with a secret transaction. The court documents are sealed and non of us know what this is about but speculations point out to the selling of Michael´s catalogue.

Last month, Katherine Jackson filled an objection to the transaction in question.

Now the Estate led by John Branca, is asking the court to dismiss Katherine’s objections to the proposed transaction and to move forward with the deal in question.

In their motion, the estate lays out how they turned Michael’s estate around. Branca and McClain said when they took over the pop star was drowning in debt.

“The Estate was teetering on the verge of collapse, with more than $400 million in debt that encumbered Michael’s most significant assets and little or no liquidity or means to service that debt. Through creative thinking, hard work and business savvy—and, of course, Michael’s extraordinary creative legacy—the Executors transformed the MJJ Business into a profitable enterprise,” the motion reads.

The executors pointed out they have been incredibly successful over the past 14 years in charge. “Desperate for creative opportunities to generate income and stave off foreclosures, the Executors negotiated a unique deal to co-produce the film This Is It with AEG using rehearsal footage from the farewell tour of the same name that Michael was preparing for when he passed,” the estate said.

They said despite negotiating extraordinarily favorable terms for the Estate, Katherine objected to the proposed transaction. The court eventually allowed the executors to move forward despite the objection.

Branca and McClain point out the film became the highest-grossing documentary/concert film of all time, “and the income, public interest, and reputational boost it generated for the Estate paved the way for the Executors’ many successes since.”

The executors said their work has provided, “provided the Beneficiaries financial security and freedom.” Branca and McClain used Katherine’s past objection as a reason to not be swayed by her current objection.

The estate said none of Michael’s children have raised issues with the deal. The executors argue Katherine should not be allowed to prevent the three beneficiaries from benefiting from the deal and they said that Katherine’s objections are “misplaced”.

The court has not yet ruled on this dispute and for sure, like me, you are a bit confused to what’s going on and what is this transaction. But if the court rules in favour of the Estate, we will see that deal to come to light.

To be continued…


Quelle: mjvibe.com

The Estate of Michael Jackson can move forward with the secret transaction

Last week, we reported that Katherine Jackson was going to court to oppose the proposed transaction that the Estate of Michael Jackson would like to implement.

Last November, the Estate of Michael Jackson asked permission to the court to go ahead with a secret transaction.

The court documents are sealed and non of us know what this is about but speculations point out to the selling of Michael´s catalogue.

Last month, Katherine Jackson filled an objection to the transaction in question and the Estate reposted by asking the Judge to dismiss the objection.

The court has now ruled in favour of the Estate despite Katherine Jackson’s testimony:

“The proposed transaction is approved and the executors are authorized and instructed to take all actions necessary to implement the proposed transaction, including but not limited to signing all contracts and performing all obligations required of the estate.”

Katherine has filed an appeal of the decision so the saga continues.

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Katherine Jackson vs The Estate: The Saga continues



The dispute between the Michael Jackson Estate and Katherine Jackson regarding a secret deal is still on going.

New court documents revealed that the Estate is fearing the legal opposition from Katherine Jackson might jeopardise the deal.

“Given the amount of time that an appeal will take, almost certainly more than a year, it is unlikely that this deal will be on the table for the Executors to accept at the conclusion of appellate proceedings, Offer of this magnitude are not typically left open for months or years at a time, with no certainty that they will ever close. This is particularly true here since the economics of the deal necessarily change with the passage of time.”

The filing noted that one family member’s objection is not that the deal is bad but rather the family member does not want to proceed with any such transaction of the kind.

It seems that the whole secret deal is about the selling of Michael Jackson own music catalog.

Both McClain and Branca claimed in court that the loss could be greater than $400 Million!

The judge still have to take a decision on the matter.

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Katherine Jackson’s response to the Estate in the “Deal” saga

The dispute between the Michael Jackson Estate and Katherine Jackson regarding a secret deal is still on going.

In new court documents, Katherine Jackson is stated that the Estate claim that she is jeopardise the deal is non-sense.

Katherine said the estate’s argument is purely speculative. She argued they have no idea if the deal would be gone or not once the appeal is handled.

“the Executors present a parade of horribles that will allegedly occur if Katherine is allowed to exercise her constitutional right of appeal, but a great deal of what they say is based upon assumptions, speculation or factual assertions that were not presented at trial.”

She argued the executors should determine in “advance whether the beneficiaries (“the people the executors are supposed to be representing”) are interested in pursuing whatever transaction the Executors believe should be pursued.”

She said Michael’s children and her all live in Los Angeles and are “obviously available for discussions. As the ultimate owners of all these assets, they should be consulted before the Executors seek to sell some of all of their unique inheritance.”

Michael’s mother said she was “not consulted about this transaction at any time before she was served with a petition for its approval. At her first reasonable opportunity, she let her wishes be known.”

Katherine demanded her appeal move forward and the executors not be allowed to move forward with the deal.

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Sony Music Buys Stake in Michael Jackson’s Catalog



Last year, nearly day to day, rumours were going around that the Michael Jackson Estate was in talks to sell half of its music catalogue for $800 to $900 million.

This is no longer a rumour but a fact. Sony Music has agreed to purchase half of Michael Jackson’s publishing and recorded masters catalog in a blockbuster deal valuing his music assets at over $1.2 billion, according to Billboard.

No exact figure is known at this time, but this means Sony will likely pay at least $600 million for its stake — though Billboard reports the valuation could be as high as $1.5 billion. Regardless of the number, the Jackson Estate deal is expected to be the largest-ever valuation of a musician’s music assets.

Sources confirm to Variety that the complex deal also includes assets from Jackson’s legendary Mijac publishing catalog, which includes other artists such as Sly & the Family Stone as well as hits written or performed by Jerry Lee Lewis, Jackie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, Ray Charles, Percy Sledge, Dion and others. However, it does not include royalties from the “MJ” Broadway musical and other theatrical productions featuring the musician’s music.

During his career and life, Michael Jackson believed in owning his rights to his music and also believed in music publishing as a profitable tool as he purchased ATV. Now ATV is in full control of Sony as the Estate sold their shares in 2016 for a deal of $750 Million and today, half of the control of Mijac.

John Branca and A&R executive John McClain are expected to continue to stay involved as co-executors of the Michael Jackson Estate. The Sony/Estate deal also leaves in place Primary Wave’s stake, which is believed to be about 10% of Michael Jackson’s publishing assets. All parties, Sony, The Estate and Primary Wave declined to comment to the media.

It is unclear if this the deal that Katherine Jackson tried to blocked in court all last year. All court documents have been blocked out and under seal.

We are not sure what it means for Michael Jackson’s music and future projects. But I am sure many of you will feel as I feel: sad and disappointed.

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Hier noch ein Auszug aus einem Artikel aus "The New York Times!

More details revealed about the Estate vs Katherine Jackson’s case



New court documents from the Estate vs Katherine Jackson case have emerged regarding the secret deal which is now obviously the sale of 50%.

Katherine has revealed that two of Michael’s children have objected to the deal. But despite the rebuttal, the judge granted the motion and approved the deal: “The proposed transaction is approved, and the executors are authorized and instructed to take all actions necessary to implement the proposed transaction, including but not limited to signing all contracts and performing all obligations required of the estate.”

But Katherine Jackson appealed the decision. In her filing, Katherine and her legal team argued the executors “have no power to cause the Estate to enter into the Proposed Transaction.” She said Michael’s will directed the executors to transfer all of his assets into The Michael Jackson Family Trust.

Katherine said Article III of the Last Will of Michael Joseph Jackson, executed on July 7, 2002, “give[s] [Michael’s] entire estate to the Trustee or Trustees then acting under that certain Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust executed on March 22, 2022 by [Michael] as Trustee and Trustor which is called the MICHAEL JACKSON FAMILY TRUST” (the “Trust”) with “[a]ll such assets . . . be[ing] held, managed and distributed as a part of said Trust according to its terms” and requiring the Trustees to “administer, hold and distribute the trust estate pursuant to the provisions of said Trust.” The beneficiaries of the trust are Michael’s children and mother.

Michael’s mom said the executors have NOT transferred all the assets to the trust.

In her filing, Katherine said the executors and the probate court judge all relied on Article V of Michael’s Will.

Article V said the executors had the right to sell Michael’s property “upon terms as my Executors shall deem best.”

Her lawyer said, “By relying wholly on Article V while ignoring Article III, the Proposed Transaction Order violates the black letter law governing the interpretation of wills, including Probate Code.”

Katherine said her son’s assets have remained in the estate and have not been transferred to the Trust as instructed in the Will.

In addition, Katherine said Paris and Blanket objected to the deal. She said Michael’s son Prince “deferred to the probate court.”

“Michael’s intention is crystal clear. Article III states in plain language that the “entire estate” shall be given to the Trust,” the motion read. “The Proposed Transaction does not give the entire Estate to the Trust. It does not give most of the Estate to the Trust. It gives none of the Estate to the Trust.”

Katherine said the probate judge said if Michael “had wanted to exclude the Music Catalog from sale … he could and should have said so.”

Michael’s mother said, “But Michael did say so. He said so in Article III, which directs that the entire Estate [redacted] … ― is to go to the family Trust.”

She said the executors were not entitled to sell the music catalog.

Her motion read, “Until the Estate, including the Music Catalog, is transferred pursuant to Article III of the Will and the law governing executors, the Executors have a contractual, legal, and fiduciary duty to preserve the Estate for the benefit of the Trust beneficiaries.”

The executors were ordered to respond to Katherine’s appeal brief by January 30. No response was filed by the due date. The sale of the music catalog was announced on February 9. It’s unclear if Katherine and the executors reached a deal before the news of the sale was announced.

What a mess!

Quelle: mjvibe.com

The Estate asked that Katherine’s appeal be dismissed.



According to court documents, John Branca and John McCain asked a California appeals court to reject Katherine’s recent petition.

They said the proposed transaction could net the estate over $400 million.

The executors asked the court to dismiss Katherine’s concerns. They said she had a history of objecting to deals they secured. McClain and Branca pointed to the concert film This is It! — which they said pulled in a $60 million advance and a substantial back-end for the estate despite Katherine’s objection to the project.

Katherine testified that she did not like the deal. She said Paris and Blanket were on her side.

In the end, the court granted the executors’ motion despite Katherine’s testimony. The judge said McClain and Branca could move forward with finalizing the deal.

The order stated, “The proposed transaction is approved, and the executors are authorized and instructed to take all actions necessary to implement the proposed transaction, including but not limited to signing all contracts and performing all obligations required of the estate.”

She said the executors had “no power” to cause the Estate to enter the proposed deal.

All signs point to the deal being the recent $600 million deal. The deal was announced on February 9.

In her appeal, Katherine’s lawyer mentioned the music catalog for the first time in a public filing.

They noted that the probate judge ruled that if Michael “had wanted to exclude the Music Catalog from sale … he could and should have said so.” Katherine argued Michael had done that in the Will despite the judge’s interpretation that he hadn’t.

In their newly filed response, McClain and Branca claimed Michael Jackson’s Will gave them full authority to sell off his property.

Their lawyers argued, “Over the past fourteen years, the Executors have exercised their powers with extraordinary care and extraordinary diligence with extraordinary results. As the probate court recognized in its decision below: “What started out as nothing but debt and substantial ongoing obligations has been turned into a $2 billion estate.”

They continued, “If Michael wanted to restrict the power of his Executors to sell Estate property, he could have said so. Instead, he did just the opposite: He expressly gave them “full power . . . to sell” Estate property as they “deem best.”

Regarding assets not being transferred to the Trust, the executors said that was due to an ongoing tax dispute with the IRS. They said even if the assets were held in the Trust, they have the power to sell them.

In addition, the executors point out that Katherine had not objected to previous sales by the executors of Michael Jackson’s assets.

As a result, the executors asked that Katherine’s appeal be dismissed.

Quelle: mjvibe.com

The Estate are refusing to Pay Katherine Jackson’s Legal Bill



As you recall Katherine Jackson was asking the Estate to pay $561,548 for her legal fees, fighting against the secret deal the Estate has done (the selling of Michael Jackson music catalogue).

But John Branca and John McClain, asked the court to shut down Katherine’s recent demand for $561k. They asked the court to deny the motion for legal fees. In their motion, they argued, “The Petition does not indicate the source from which Mrs. Jackson’s counsel seeks to have the requested attorney’s fees and expenses paid. It is not clear whether she is seeking payment from the probate estate or from the Trust.”

Further, the executors argued, “To the extents Mrs. Jackson seeks payment from the probate estate, the Petition lacks merit because it relies on provisions of the Trust, claiming that payment of legal fees is required by provisions of the Trust authorizing the Trustees to make payments “in [their] absolute discretion, for [Mrs. Jackson’s] care, support, maintenance, comfort and well-being.”

Quelle: mjvibe.com

Blanket Jackson Filing to Block Grandmother ... No Estate Money For Appeal

Michael Jackson's family is involved in a complex legal battle ... and they're not all on the same side in this one -- 'cause MJ's son Blanket is trying to stop his own grandmother from using estate money in her ongoing fight.

Here's the deal ... Blanket -- MJ's youngest son, whose real name is Bigi Jackson -- filed documents this week, obtained by TMZ, asking the court not to allow his grandmother Katherine to use Michael's estate money to fund an appeal of a previous ruling.

Basically, Blanket and his grandmother were recently working together to stop the executors of Jackson's estate from going through with a huge business transaction that they were very much so against.

The docs don't say exactly what the transaction was -- it's been shrouded in mystery throughout this saga -- but, based on recent reporting, it seems like it may be related to the deal the estate made with Sony to sell about half of Michael's music catalog for $600M.

Blanket explains he and his grandmother presented their arguments opposing the deal ... but ultimately the court ruled against them -- seemingly bringing the legal issue to a close.

However, Katherine's decided to appeal the ruling ... a move Blanket says he doesn’t want any part of -- and, more importantly ... he doesn't want his father's estate paying for her legal bills. As you know, he's an heir to the estate ... so that cash is pretty important to him.

The way Blanket explains it in the docs ... the appeal has little chance of winning, and he says he doesn't think it truly benefits the beneficiaries of the trust to continue the fight -- so, he simply doesn't want the estate to foot the bill for it ... something Katherine wants.

Blanket's also asked the court to use its best judgment to grant Katherine reasonable attorney's fees incurred from the pre-appeal battle -- which he agrees she's entitled to ... at least to a certain extent.

It's unsurprising Blanket's filing against Katherine ... just yesterday, executors of Michael's estate reportedly claimed that she receives a seven-figure allowance for the year -- money Blanket presumably would rather she use for the appeal instead of the estate's dough.

Seems like the family's not totally seeing eye to eye on this one ... a judge has yet to rule.
Quelle: TMZ

Muß man das jetzt verstehen? Also, ich verstehe es, ehrlich gesagt, überhaupt nicht, bin gespannt, was Ihr dazu sagt