As reported by Billboard, the estate of Michael Jackson has achieved a preliminary court victory that paves the way for a $600 million sale of the late singer's catalog to Sony Music, despite objections from his mother, who sought to block the deal.
Katherine Jackson contended that the massive deal breached the terms of Michael's will. However, a California appeals court provisionally ruled on July 17th that she had "waived" that argument by not raising it before a lower probate court.
Even if she had raised the argument properly, the appeals court stated that the estate's executors possessed the authority to finalize the deal. The court pointed out that Jackson's will had granted the executors (John Branca and John McClain) the power to "sell, invest, or otherwise manage estate property" while they were in charge.
"The court is tentatively inclined to affirm the probate court's order granting the executors' request to proceed with the proposed transaction," the appeals court stated in its ruling, as obtained by Billboard. "We tentatively conclude that Katherine's challenge fails on the merits because the probate court's order does not violate the terms of Michael's will."
These "tentative" rulings must be officially confirmed before being entered, but they strongly indicate the court's anticipated decision. An attorney for Katherine did not respond to a request for comment at time of press. A representative for the Jackson estate declined to comment. The tentative ruling's news was initially reported by Rolling Stone.
Earlier this year, as reported by Billboard, the Jackson estate and Sony Music reached an agreement for the music company to acquire half of the singer's publishing and recorded masters catalog for over $600 million.
However, since the Jackson estate is still pending before a Los Angeles probate court more than 15 years after his death in 2009, his executors brought the then-confidential deal to Judge Mitchell Beckloff for approval. When they did so, Katherine lodged objections, including that the sale "contravened Michael's desires" and that retaining the catalog would likely lead to its increasing value over time.
In April 2023, Beckloff dismissed those objections and ruled that the deal could proceed. Katherine subsequently filed an appeal, leading to the provisional decision made on Wednesday.
The dispute over the Sony deal has laid bare divisions among Jackson's heirs. In March, Jackson's son Blanket requested the judge to prevent his grandmother from using estate funds to finance her efforts to obstruct the Sony deal. Although both initially opposed the sale, Blanket and Jackson's other children accepted the probate judge's decision to allow it to move forward.
Later that same week, the estate addressed assertions from Katherine's lawyers that she needed estate funds to cover her legal battle, arguing that she had received over $55 million since the singer's death. The estate's executors contended that "virtually no request of Mrs. Jackson for her care or maintenance has been declined," including over $33 million in cash.
Comments