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Business News Jacksons v AEG Timeline Legal Live Business
Jacksons not behind AEG emails leak, says judge
By CMU Editorial | Published on Tuesday 13 November 2012
The judge overseeing the Jackson family’s wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live last week said she was not convinced that the Jacksons were behind the leaking of various emails between AEG employees and associates discussing work on the ill-fated ‘This Is It’ live show, both before and after Michael Jackson’s death.
As previously reported, the Jacksons want AEG held liable for the death of Michael Jackson as employers of Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of causing the late king of pop’s death through negligent treatment. AEG contends that Jackson himself hired and managed the medic.
In September a batch of emails between AEG execs were leaked to the LA Times. They were embarrassing because private statements about Jackson’s physical and mental well-being while preparations for ‘This Is It’ were underway differed from public statements at the time.
In legal terms, the emails were arguably more damaging to AEG’s since settled lawsuit against ‘This Is It’ insurer Lloyds Of London, which was refusing to pay out on the cancelled Jackson shows over allegations the live firm misrepresented the singer’s health when taking out its insurance.
But either way, AEG accused the Jackson family, which had confidential access to the leaked emails as part of prep for its legal dispute with the live firm, of being behind the LA Times exposé. The live firm asked the judge hearing its case to ban the emails from any court hearings relating to the two parties’ dispute, and to fine the Jackson family.
But legal reps for the Jacksons denied that the family were behind the leaks, arguing that they had no interest in making public emails that portrayed Michael in a negative light, nor which damaged their own legal fight with Lloyds.
And last week LA Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos agreed with the Jackson family, ruling that AEG had failed to prove that the Jacksons were behind the link, or to demonstrate why the emails being made public would have a detrimental impact on any court hearings in the Jacksons v AEG case.
That case will now continue as planned.
