Anniversary of Michael Jackson's death

[doug]

Source: Jackson tribute shows canceled
AEG has sold the rehearsal rights to Sony, source says
By Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop
msnbc.com
The Michael Jackson tribute concerts planned for London in August have been canceled, according to one of the top organizers of Jackson's original 50-date tour and the tribute shows that were in the works.

The source also says that AEG has sold the rehearsal rights to Sony, and out of the interest of making the planned Oct. 30 release of the film version of the footage, Sony scrapped the tribute show.

Reps for AEG and Sony didn’t respond immediately for comment.


© 2009 msnbc.com

[doug]

Manslaughter probe targets Jackson doctor
Police investigating Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with singer when he died
The Associated Press
Michael Jackson's personal doctor is the target of the manslaughter investigation into the singer's death, according to court documents filed Thursday, the day after agents seized items from the physician's Houston clinic.

A search warrant approved by a Houston judge allowed authorities to seek "property or items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense."

A receipt for the search warrant detailed items seized when federal drug agents and Los Angeles police descended on Murray's clinic Wednesday. Among them: 27 tablets of the weight loss drug phentermine, a tablet of the muscle relaxant clonazepam, two hard drives, notices from the IRS and a controlled substance registration.

Murray's lawyer, Edward Chernoff, referred queries to the statement he made a day earlier in which he confirmed a search warrant had been executed and that none of the items seized had previously been requested by authorities.

Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Officer Bruce Borihanh said he could confirm a search warrant was served but had no other comment.

Murray, a cardiologist, was hired as Jackson's personal physician not long before he died. He was in Jackson's rented Los Angeles mansion when the pop star was found unconscious the morning of June 25 and tried unsuccessfully to revive him.

An official determination of what killed Jackson won't be made until at least next week, when the Los Angeles County coroner expects to have a completed toxicology report.

Jackson had a long history of prescription drug use and investigators are speaking with a number of doctors who treated him. Propofol, a powerful anesthetic, has emerged as an important part of the investigation. Doses of it were found in his mansion, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly.

Propofol was not listed on the receipt of items filed in the search warrant, which was approved Monday by Harris County District Court Judge Shawna L. Reagin. The warrant was under seal when it was executed Wednesday; its contents were revealed Thursday when the receipt was filed with the court.

A second search warrant, also executed Wednesday, targeted a storage locker Murray rented about five miles from the north Houston clinic. Los Angeles police officers and agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration searched the 10-by-15 foot unit, said Sue Lyon, general manager of West 18th Street Self Storage.

Lyon said she didn't know what was taken, though she did notice authorities gave two itemized sheets of paper to Murray's attorneys who were present.

"It was basically all secretive, and nobody put their nose in nobody's business," Lyon said.

Murray rented the unit April 1, according to Lyon, and while he never visited it personally, others from his clinic did six times — the last time the morning of Jackson's death.


© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

Scoop: Jackson footage fetches $60 million
Source: Studio forces cancellation of tribute shows; film set for Oct. release
By Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop
msnbc.com
Sony has paid $60 million for footage of Michael Jackson's final rehearsals, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

The studio plans to release a film version of the recordings in October.

But as part of the deal with AEG, Sony stipulated that tribute concerts planned for London in August must be canceled.

The move has left some of the organizers of the tribute, who also held key roles in the original 50-date tour, irate.

“The show directors, choreographers, dancers, cast, crew all extended their stays in Los Angeles after Michael’s death, worked on his memorial, began planning the tribute shows because we were told time and again that it would happen,” one highly-placed member of the “This is It” tour said.

“Then we get a phone call late (Thursday) saying it was all off, and all work after June 26 — the day after Michael died — is considered volunteer work.”

Not only are people not being paid for their time, according to sources, but there are outstanding costs associated with the tour that haven’t yet been covered.

“AEG had a budget for the tour, and Michael had a vision. To cover the difference, many of us paid out of our own pockets,” the source said. “We did this with the assurance from Michael that we’d be paid, and collectively we’re out millions, and don’t even know where to turn to get the money back. His estate? Sony? It’s a nightmare.”


© 2009 msnbc.com

[doug]

Ex-doc: Lethal drugs found in Jackson
Longtime friend says Demerol, Propofol were in singer’s body
msnbc.com news services
LOS ANGELES - Dr. Steven Hoefflin, a longtime friend and doctor of Michael Jackson, said that the singer “had lethal amounts of Demerol and Propofol in his body” at the time of his death.

In an interview on Thursday with Access Hollywood, Hoefflin, who performed surgery on Jackson after he sustained second- and third-degree burns while filming his 1984 Pepsi commercial, said he was speaking out on the authorization of his late friend’s mother, Katherine Jackson.

Hoefflin said he last provided care for Michael Jackson in 1998, and participated in a 2002 intervention for the star.

Hoefflin told Access that according to a reliable source, Jackson’s toxicology report indicated the singer “had lethal amounts of Demerol and Propofol in his body” when he died on June 25. Results from the L.A. coroner’s official autopsy of Jackson have yet to be publicly released.

Hoefflin said Jackson himself told him about his heavy drug intake at the time of the 2002 intervention, saying then that he was receiving regular injections of Demerol.

Hoefflin maintained to Access he has not been paid for his interviews — including one in the Britain newspaper The Sun, which ran on Thursday. In that and other interviews, Hoefflin named specific doctors he says were involved in administering drugs to Jackson.

When asked by Access if the family planned to “go after” those they believed were involved in Jackson’s death, Hoefflin said they would.

“Of course they are,” he said.

He went on to discuss specific treatments Jackson reportedly received from doctors, saying the singer received injections of Benoquin, a permanent bleaching agent used to lighten his facial skin, as well as collagen injections. The singer also was treated for deep pimples on his face and nose with injections of Celestine, a powerful cortisone, he said.

Hoefflin disagreed with both the collagen and the cortisone injections, saying that Jackson, who suffered from lupus, should not have received collagen. He also said "cortisone injections can thin out tissue in the face. I told him that he should not have any further injections ... as it was thinning out his face and nose."

Hoefflin also said that at least one doctor would prescribe prescriptions for the singer under the alias Omar Arnold.

Family angry about biography

During his interview with Access, Hoefflin said the Jackson family would also seek legal recourse against unofficial biographer Ian Halperin, who released the book “Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson” earlier this month. Halperin writes in his book that the pop star was gay and that greed led to his death.

Hoefflin said fans should “boycott the book and burn it on the street.”

A representative for Halperin declined to comment when contacted by Access.

Hoefflin, with whom Jackson lived during the time surrounding the release of his 1987 album “Bad,” specifically denied the allegation that the singer was gay, saying he once went with Jackson to the Playboy mansion.

“All the time, Michael was commenting on the beautiful women,” he said.

Hoefflin also denied a number of stories circulating about the pop star, including one report that the singer wore a prosthetic nose or nose tip and was not wearing it at the time of his death.

He noted that Jackson wore compressive tape to shape his nose on a nightly basis, not a prosthetic, and that the tape may have resulted in the confusing reports.


Hoefflin said he has not been questioned by the police, but he’s “sure [he] will be a witness.”

A spokesperson for Jackson family attorney Londell McMillan was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Access.

© 2009 msnbc.com

[doug]

$5.5M in cash recovered for Jackson estate
Property also reclaimed from former adviser, court documents show
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - The temporary administrators of Michael Jackson’s estate have recovered $5.5 million and substantial amounts of personal property from an unnamed former financial adviser, and predict that the pop icon’s estate will be solvent despite an estimated $400 million or more in debt, according to court documents released Friday.

Attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain are serving as temporary administrators as spelled out in the “King of Pop’s” will. The men are finishing several deals that they expect will generate “tens of millions of dollars of revenues.”

They expect to submit those deals for court approval within the next week, the filings state.

The revelations were included in two motions requesting allowances for Jackson’s three children and his mother, Katherine. The petitions state that Jackson was the primary source of income for his children and his mother, who receives some money from Social Security.

Katherine Jackson currently has custody of the three children, 12-year-old Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael; 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson; and 7-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket. The children and Jackson’s mother are the only members of Jackson’s family eligible to receive support from the estate, according to the court filings.

The monthly stipends that Branca and McClain hope to provide the Jacksons are redacted from the court records released Friday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff refused to grant the allowances on Thursday, opting instead to consider them at a hearing on Aug. 3. The judge did allow the administrators to enter into deals that will bring reprints of Michael Jackson’s 1988 autobiography, “Moonwalk” back to booksellers.

Branca and McClain “believe that the projected cash flow and the assets of the estate are more than sufficient to cover the payment of this amount as a family allowance for the benefit of the minor children.”


Jackson paid for the expenses at the Jackson family home in the San Fernando Valley, the court filings state. The administrators plan to keep that arrangement, even though some of the expenses may go to other Jackson family members who also live at the home.

Jackson’s children will receive Social Security benefits, which have been applied for but payments have not yet started. Their monthly stipends from the estate may be reduced, depending on much money they receive from Social Security, the filings state.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

Experts: Jackson case now a full criminal probe
‘This is about building a criminal case,’ not cause of death, lawyer says
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - The odd array of evidence police collected from Michael Jackson’s personal physician’s clinic and storage unit shows authorities are trying to follow a trail of drugs and looking into the doctor’s record keeping as they attempt to unravel what led to the pop star’s death.

Search warrants targeting Dr. Conrad Murray’s Houston clinic and his storage unit mean authorities have moved into a full-fledged criminal investigation, looking toward the kind of court case they could build against the physician, legal experts said Friday.

“This is no longer a cause of death investigation,” said attorney Mark Geragos, who once represented Jackson. “This is about building a criminal case.”

Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson said she expects to see search warrants served at more places associated with Murray and for investigators to be interviewing his employees.

“I do think they believe there’s high suspicion that he may be responsible” for Jackson’s death, she said.

Items seized
Los Angeles police and Drug Enforcement Administration agents executed the warrants Wednesday. The language in the documents said the evidence is being gathered as part of a manslaughter investigation targeting Murray.

Authorities have not publicly termed their investigation criminal and still say Murray is not a suspect.

The items seized included 27 tablets of the weight loss drug phentermine, a tablet of the muscle relaxant clonazepam, business cards, storage receipts, notices from the Internal Revenue Service and computer hard drives.

Authorities also took e-mails from and correspondence addressed to Stacey Howe. Records listed Howe as “administrator” at Murray’s Las Vegas business, Global Cardiovascular Associates Inc. Attempts to reach her Friday were unsuccessful.

Murray, 51, was hired as Jackson’s personal physician not long before he died. He was in Jackson’s rented Los Angeles mansion when the pop star was found unconscious the morning of June 25 and tried unsuccessfully to revive him.

Murray has kept a low profile since Jackson’s death. He was interviewed twice by police but has not spoken publicly. Doors to his Las Vegas office were locked Friday with red curtains drawn behind them.

Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner Ed Winter said a final determination on Jackson’s cause of death is not expected until the end of next week, when toxicology reports should be finished.

Long medical history
Jackson had a long history of prescription drug use and was under anesthesia for many medical procedures over the years.

Propofol, a powerful anesthetic that should only be used by specially trained medical professionals, has emerged as an important part of the investigation. Doses of it were found in Jackson’s mansion, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who is not authorized to speak publicly.

The search warrants granted permission for authorities to seize items “including but not limited to billing records, medication orders, transport receipts, billing receipts, medical records and computerized medical records.”

‘A once in a lifetime opportunity’
Geragos said that indicates police are following a trail which involves purchases of drugs by Murray and possible shipment of drugs to Jackson’s home.


The documents seized from his clinic included a “suspension notice” from Doctor’s Hospital in Houston as well as “papers regarding incomplete chart” at the same hospital. Also on the list was an expired medical board certificate.

“I can hear the prosecution opening statement in this case already,” Geragos said. “They’re going to talk about a doctor who had privileges suspended at a hospital for poor record keeping, has financial difficulties and now he gets this once in a lifetime opportunity to get a large paycheck and be the live-in doctor to Michael Jackson.”

Geragos said he was not implying that Jackson committed suicide but that reckless use of a drug or a combination of drugs may have led to death.

Slapped with court judgments
Mike Bullard, chief executive officer of Doctor’s Hospital, said Murray was on staff and worked in a cardiac lab. He said because Murray lived in Las Vegas he was at the hospital only a few days a month and last was seen there in April.

Bullard refused to confirm whether Murray had been given a suspension notice. But Bullard said that if a suspension notice is not on file with the state of Texas — and the state has no such record — then such a notice would likely be for a minor infraction like a paperwork mistake.

It’s unclear whether the seized IRS notices were related to recent financial troubles at Global Cardiovascular. In a 10-month period ending last fall Murray’s business was slapped with more than $400,000 in court judgments: $228,000 to Citicorp Vendor Finance Inc. in November 2007, $71,000 to an education loan company in June 2008 and $135,000 to a leasing company last September.


Murray took a leave from his Nevada practice to accompany Jackson to London for a planned series of 50 concerts. He was to be paid a reported $150,000 per month.

Greg Scott, a former U.S. attorney and district attorney in California, said it will take strong evidence to lead prosecutors to make the leap from finding negligence to finding criminal negligence, the basis of a manslaughter charge. Even if a charge is filed, he said prosecutors won’t have an easy time at trial.

“Cases against doctors are extremely difficult,” he said. “A jury is being asked to second guess the decisions of a trained professional and we usually don’t do that. If a doctor tells us to do something, we do it.”

He noted that the standard for conviction is beyond a reasonable doubt and, “If the defense finds even one doctor to testify this was proper treatment, that’s reasonable doubt.”

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

Sheriff probing Jackson coroner’s employees
Investigation focusing on whether private information was sold or leaked

Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators have begun an inquiry into whether coroner's employees illegally leaked or sold private information related to the investigation of Michael Jackson's death.
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles County sheriff's investigators have begun an inquiry into whether coroner's employees illegally leaked or sold private information related to the investigation of Michael Jackson's death.

Investigators spoke to the coroner's office Friday and will handle the inquiry with the district attorney's office, according to sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore. The department was asked to conduct the probe by county supervisors, he said.

"It's an inquiry, not an investigation, and it is very preliminary," Whitmore said. "We've just made a couple of calls. We want to find out if we need to proceed, if this requires an investigation."

On Wednesday the coroner's office said Jackson's death certificate was improperly viewed by at least a half-dozen employees who had no role in investigating the cause of his death.

Improper views of the certificate, which is stored in a state-supervised computer system, is a violation of internal rules, not any laws, Harvey said.

Harvey has said the employees were warned and that no further investigation was needed.

Within two weeks of the entertainer's June 25 death, the certificate had been viewed more than 300 times, according to Harvey. The electronic death registration system can be accessed by anyone with a state-issued password, including employees at coroner's offices, funeral homes, hospitals and county and state registrar's offices.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

Scoop: Michael Jackson’s veins weren’t IV friendly

A file picture dated 01 March 2005 shows US singer Michael Jackson arriving at the Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, California, USA. The Los Angeles coroner Fred Coral confirmed that pop star Michael Jackson had died on 25 June 2009 of cardiac arrest. In an audio interview with CNN, Coral said Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm local California time after paramedics responded to a call at his house.
By Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop
msnbc.com
Michael Jackson was using propofol, an anesthetic administered by IV, so frequently that he came to depend on it as “sort of an alarm clock,” according to Associated Press reports.

A toxicology report will be necessary to confirm Jackson’s use of the drug, but his personal nurse and nutritionist Cherilyn Lee weighed in and said that although Jackson asked her for the drug, too, she never witnessed him accept it or any other IV drugs.

However, she did say that actually getting the IV started for Jackson would be difficult because it was hard to find a vein. “What I knew for a fact was he had very small veins. When I met him and did his blood work he said, ‘Don’t feel bad because I have tiny squiggly veins, sometimes it takes 30 minutes to an hour to find my veins,’ ” Lee said.

It didn’t take Lee that long to get blood drawn from Jackson, but she said she did have trouble. “It did take multiple sticks. He was good about it, though.”

© 2009 msnbc.com

[doug]

Money-troubled doc found lifeline in Jackson
Conrad Murray owed at least $780,000 in settlements, mortgage, loans

Dr. Conrad Murray needed a big payday when he became Michael Jackson's personal physician last spring.
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Dr. Conrad Murray needed a big payday when he became Michael Jackson's personal physician last spring.

The Las Vegas cardiologist owed at least $780,000 for settlements against his business, outstanding mortgage payments on his house, delinquent student loans, child support and credit cards. And that doesn't include the $68,000 the distributor of an energy drink says Murray, a one-time business associate, owes for skipping out on payments.

Court records chronicling Murray's woes in Las Vegas, where authorities searched his home this week as part of their manslaughter investigation into Jackson's death, help explain why — beyond basking in a celebrity's aura — Murray might have jumped at the $150,000-a-month Jackson's promoter was prepared to pay him to keep the star healthy through a series of concerts in London.

Murray hooked on with Jackson in May, as his bleak financial picture threatened to worsen. He already was under court orders to pay more than $363,000 for equipment for his heart clinic and $71,000 in student loans dating to the 1980s, a judgment that hit in April. Two lawsuits claiming he owes $240,000 more for unpaid equipment are pending in Nevada courts.

And Murray had appeared unable or unwilling to settle more modest debts — a nearly $3,700 judgment for not paying child support and two recent credit card company claims totaling $2,600.

Vegas luxury home is in ‘pre-foreclosure’

Murray's 5,268-square-foot home near the 18th hole of a golf course offers no refuge — he's in "pre-foreclosure" after failing to make payments on his $1.66 million loan, records show. He stopped paying the $15,000-per-month mortgage in December and could lose the home by November, said Mary Hunt, the foreclosure officer handling the case for Stewart Title company.

Authorities investigating Jackson's death at his rented Los Angeles mansion believe Murray gave the star a fatal dose of the anesthetic propofol to help him sleep, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. Propofol is commonly used for surgeries and is not meant as a sleep agent or to be given in private homes. Because of its potency, only trained anesthesia professionals are supposed to administer it and patients are to be constantly monitored.

Police have not labeled Murray a suspect but have said in search warrants they are seeking evidence he committed manslaughter and prescribed drugs to "an addict," an apparent reference to Jackson.

Murray, 56, has not spoken publicly since Jackson's June 25 death. His lawyer, Ed Chernoff, has said the doctor did not prescribe anything that "should have" killed Jackson.

Neither Jackson nor AEG Live, the promoter for the London concerts, paid Murray for the two months the doctor worked for the pop star, according to Chernoff.

"Dr. Murray has lost the ability to make a living as a result of this investigation," he said. "His hope is he can forestall foreclosure until he can once again begin working as a doctor."

Pit Bull energy drink never took off

Murray's financial background could become an important part of the case if prosecutors file charges, said Rebecca Lonergan, a University of Southern California law professor and former federal prosecutor of health care fraud cases.

"It does potentially provide evidence of good motive for financial-based crimes, including prescribing when there is not a medical necessity," she said.

Murray's cresting financial woes fit into a history of money problems. He filed for bankruptcy in California in 1992 and had a string of tax liens from Sacramento and San Bernardino counties as well as Maricopa County, Ariz., between 1993 and 2003.

Several years ago, Murray branched out, striking up a deal with John Thomas, distributor of an energy drink called Pit Bull. Thomas said in 2005 and 2006 Murray had the rights to distribute the drink in Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean island nation where Murray lived and worked before coming to the United States in the 1980s to study medicine.

The drink never gained popularity there. Murray paid his bill for a first shipment, then didn't pay for three subsequent shipments, Thomas said.

Though Thomas said Murray owes him $68,000, he remained friendly with the doctor and spoke briefly with him days before Jackson's death, when he invited Murray to the opening of a mixed martial arts gym in Las Vegas. Murray told him he was out of town and wouldn't be able to attend.

"You always think you know a guy," Thomas said. "All the dirt is coming out now."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

updated 12:01 a.m. ET Aug. 3, 2009
Jackson hearing has lengthy to-do list
Judge must deal with guardianship of kids, allowance, possible challenge

The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - The handlers of Michael Jackson's probate and guardianship cases have a full slate at a hearing meant to tackle a number of estate and family issues.

At least one major hurdle was cleared last week with a custody agreement between Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and Deborah Rowe, the biological mother of the singer's two oldest children.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff has deferred hearing arguments or making rulings on several motions brought by attorneys for Katherine Jackson and the two men who have temporary control of the pop icon's financial matters: attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain.

Jackson's estate has been described in court documents as having an estimated value of more than $500 million, but its actual current worth is about $100 million, and could increase in value to $200 million or more with some financial restructuring, according to a person briefed on the matter. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity.

Branca and McClain could leave Monday's hearing with a firmer rein on the estate. Similarly, Katherine Jackson could emerge with guardianship of her three grandchildren, since her agreement with Rowe, which grants the singer's ex-wife visitation rights, means no one is expected to challenge the current arrangement.

The to-do list for Monday's hearing has grown in recent weeks, with Beckloff deferring decisions on several issues, most of which have to do with Jackson's finances.

Among the issues Beckloff is slated to consider:

—An allowance for Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren. The special administrators of Jackson's estate have asked for monthly stipends for the group, noting that Jackson supported all of them when he was alive. Beckloff delayed considering the payments until Monday, but attorneys on both sides agree they are necessary.

—Decide when Katherine Jackson will become the permanent guardian of her grandchildren, 12-year-old Prince Michael, 10-year-old Paris Michael and 7-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket. No one else has petitioned for custody of the children, and Jackson was her son's first choice named in his 2002 will.

—Whether Katherine Jackson can challenge the men currently administering the son's estate, without actually contesting her son's will. Her attorneys have asked Beckloff to decide whether if they petition to remove Branca and McClain as administrators, they will trigger a no-contest clause in Jackson's trust. Without the protection of Beckloff's ruling, Mrs. Jackson could lose her 40 percent share of Jackson's estate if she mounts a challenge to Branca and McClain's authority.

—Mrs. Jackson's attorneys have expressed concerns about possible conflicts of interests that Branca and McClain may have, and have been seeking greater access to Jackson's records in the form of subpoenas and depositions. They sought that authority last week ahead of Monday's hearing, but were told they would have to wait until that day for a ruling.


—Decide whether Branca and McClain continue administering Jackson's estate. Court filings indicate the pair have already received $5.5 million from a former Jackson financial adviser, later identified as Tohme Tohme. They have also take possession of many of the King of Pop's property, and have said in court filings that they hope to finish several multimillion deals soon.

—Beckloff could be presented with some of those deals. The judge has already approved one that will bring Jackson's 1988 autobiography, "Moonwalk" back to store shelves. The singer left behind several unfinished projects and a trove of unreleased music.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

updated 4:37 p.m. ET Aug. 3, 2009
Katherine Jackson named children’s guardian
Singer’s former dermatologist raises nonspecific objections
MSNBC
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson’s mother gained permanent custody of her late son’s children during a hearing Monday that included a surprise objection from the pop icon’s former dermatologist.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff made a series of key rulings during the morning portion of the Monday hearing. In addition to approving Katherine Jackson’s guardianship petition, he also granted monthly stipends to the 79-year-old and the three young grandchildren she is now charged with raising.

The ruling came after a few tense moments in which an attorney for Beverly Hills Dr. Arnold Klein, Michael Jackson’s longtime dermatologist, raised nonspecific objections to the custody arrangements. The attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, said they were based on the doctor’s long-term relationship with the singer and his children.

“Legally, he is not a presumed parent,” Kaplan said. He said Klein had concerns about the children’s education and other day-to-day parenting issues.

Beckloff ultimately determined Klein didn’t have legal standing to object to the care of Jackson’s children, but said he could raise objections later. Klein has repeatedly denied tabloid reports that he is the biological father of Jackson’s children, saying last month on “Larry King Live” that “to the best of my knowledge” he is not.

Diane Goodman, an attorney for Katherine Jackson, told Beckloff that Jackson’s youngest son, Prince Michael II, was born through a surrogate who has no parental rights.

Katherine Jackson’s approval as permanent guardian is in accordance with her son’s wishes, who named her in a 2002 will as the person he wanted to raise his children. Beckloff noted that the singer’s two oldest children, 12-year-old Prince Michael and 11-year-old Paris Michael, filed declarations stating their wishes for who would raise them. He did not indicate what they said.

Last week, Katherine Jackson and the singer’s ex-wife, Deborah Rowe, reached an agreement over custody issues. Rowe, who did not appear in court Monday, never formally petitioned for custody, but will receive some visits with Jackson’s two oldest children, to whom she gave birth while the couple was married in the late 1990s.

Mother may be able to mount a challenge
The agenda for Monday’s hearing contained a long laundry list of issues for Beckloff to rule on. After a morning recess, the judge was expected to consider whether Katherine Jackson can mount a challenge to two men who have are administering her son’s estate, attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain.

The men were named as co-executors of Jackson’s 2002 will, and have already received millions of dollars in the singer’s money, property and a life insurance payout, court filings show. The money is being placed into a private trust, which designates that 40 percent of the estate goes to Katherine Jackson, 40 percent goes to the children, and 20 percent goes to various charities.

It is unclear how much money Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren will receive in allowance from the singer’s estate in the meantime. Beckloff did not state the figures in court and indicated he was likely to seal those details if attorneys asked him to do so.

The proposed figures have been redacted from court filings so far. Beckloff did trim the amount the three children will receive, saying that there appeared to be some duplication between the expenses Katherine Jackson listed and those listed for the children.

Also Monday, Branca said during a break that the estate has reached a settlement with AEG, the concert promoter that had been preparing for the King of Pop’s 50 comeback shows in London. Terms were not disclosed, and the agreement will be filed under seal pending approval from Beckloff, who scheduled a hearing on the matter for next Monday.

The judge also said that Mrs. Jackson should be able to review her son’s contracts with AEG. The promoter had sought to prevent her attorneys access without a confidentiality order. Beckloff ruled that Katherine Jackson can review the contracts, but only under certain conditions.


Mrs. Jackson’s lawyers have also asked Beckloff to allow them to depose Branca and McClain and subpoena their records. Her attorneys have cited a potential conflict of interest between the administrators and AEG as a source of suspicion for the Jackson family; they are also concerned that AEG’s request for a protective order bars the family from sharing the concert contract with police.

Kathy Jorrie, an attorney for AEG Live said the company will share the contracts with authorities if detectives think it will help their investigation into Jackson’s death.

Katherine Jackson arrived flanked by daughters LaToya and Rebbie and son Randy Jackson. Several attorneys representing her were also in court.

The hearing was attended by more than 20 attorneys representing a variety of interests, including Sony/ATV, a music catalog in which Jackson had a substantial stake, concert promoter AEG Live, and Columbia Pictures. Several of the attorneys are also handling issues in Britney Spears’ conservatorship case, and an afternoon hearing scheduled in that matter was postponed.

The attorneys were outnumbered only by media outlets jockeying for seats in the hearing. A variety of broadcast, Internet and print media outlets covered the hearing, arriving more than an hour before Beckloff took the bench to get a seat. An overflow room was also required.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

updated 10:49 a.m. ET Aug. 3, 2009
Michael Jackson's life insurance paid out
Records don’t indicate how much was paid to estate administrators

Court filings state the administrators of Michael Jackson's estate have received the King of Pop's life insurance proceeds.
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Court filings state the administrators of Michael Jackson's estate have received the King of Pop's life insurance proceeds.

The records, filed Friday in Los Angeles, are redacted and don't indicate how much the policy paid out. The filings state that money designated for Jackson's three children has been received by a trust being handled by special administrators of the singer's estate.

The filings are meant to augment a petition to give the children a monthly stipend. Another filing indicates Jackson's mother, Katherine, is also eligible for some benefits from the policy.

The administrators are also seeking an allowance for Katherine Jackson, who is now caring for the children.

A court hearing is scheduled Monday on whether the allowances will be granted.


Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

updated 9:14 p.m. ET Aug. 3, 2009
The Scoop
What’s behind Jackson’s dermatologist’s custody quest?
Proving that there’s never a facet of the Michael Jackson story that is un-weird, Jackson’s dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein surfaced as a third party interested in custody of Jackson’s children Prince and Paris.

During court proceedings Aug. 2, Klein’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan (who was Kevin Federline’s attorney during his divorce from Britney Spears) said that his client had a “unique interests” in the custody of the kids, especially when it comes to issues of education and medical care.

A quick sidebar with Kaplan, the judge and attorneys for Katherine Jackson ensued, after which the judge ruled that Klein did not have legal standing with regards to the custody of the children. The details of what was said during the sidebar were never made public.

If that put the issue to rest, it makes the fact that Kaplan and Klein spent the afternoon together in closed-door meetings somewhat confounding. What more is there to discuss? Klein was rumored to be the possible biological father to Prince and Paris, which is further fuel for speculation about Kaplan’s vague “unique interests” comment in court. Kaplan couldn’t specify what went on during the hearing or meeting with his client and declined all media requests. Stay tuned, though. All signs point to there being more to the story.

© 2009 msnbc.com

[doug]

updated 6:48 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2009
Joe Jackson won’t help raise son’s children
In a statement filed in court, he says he only occasionally visits family home

Joe Jackson wrote in a statement filed in a Los Angeles court that he only occasionally visits the family home.
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Court records show Joe Jackson doesn’t plan to help raise Michael Jackson’s children.

The Jackson family patriarch lives in Las Vegas and wrote in a statement filed in a Los Angeles court Monday that he only occasionally visits the family home north of Los Angeles. His two-page declaration expresses support for his wife, Katherine, who on Monday was granted permanent custody of Michael Jackson’s three children.

Joe Jackson writes that his estranged wife is “a wonderful caretaker and guardian.”

A judge on Monday awarded Katherine Jackson a monthly stipend to help upkeep of the family’s home, where her three grandchildren are staying.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[doug]

updated 9:26 p.m. ET Aug. 6, 2009
The Scoop
Scoop: Jermaine cashes in on Michael’s death

A file picture dated 01 March 2005 shows US singer Michael Jackson arriving at the Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, California, USA. The Los Angeles coroner Fred Coral confirmed that pop star Michael Jackson had died on 25 June 2009 of cardiac arrest. In an audio interview with CNN, Coral said Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm local California time after paramedics responded to a call at his house.
By Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop
msnbc.com
Michael Jackson has plenty of siblings who depended on him financially, but it’s brother Jermaine who seems to be doing the most to profit from him after his death.

Not only has Jermaine struck a deal to release a recording of “Smile,” the song he performed at Michael Jackson’s July 7 public memorial, but now there’s a series of tribute concerts he’s planning. Jermaine made the announcement during a taped interview with Larry King, which airs Aug. 7, according to multiple sources who had access to the interview.

What’s interesting about the announcement is right up until the interview, Jermaine was making calls to artists who were involved with the “This Is It Tour,” telling them the tribute concerts would be part of the World Music Awards. Not only is this not true, but the World Music Awards turned down a Jackson family appearance at the show, which will be taped in late October in Monaco, according to a person with direct knowledge of the Jacksons’ proposal.

“Two different people, each claiming to be representatives of the entire family called to ask if there was interest,” said the source. “Let’s say there was interest: First of all, no one represents the entire family, so that wasn’t right. Then, you can’t get past the issue of their travel needs. They said the entire family would have to travel from California to Monaco via chartered jet. And that’s just not going to happen.”

What will take place at the World Music Awards? Janet Jackson (who, it should be noted, is not to be lumped into Jermaine’s category — she’s been an example of pitch-perfect respect toward Michael and the situation as a whole) will not perform, but organizers expect she will accept an award on behalf of Michael, who was due to receive the award prior to his death. Also, Prince is in talks to do a tribute performance to Michael Jackson.

© 2009 msnbc.com