Michael Jackson family's civil trial blames AEG in singer's death
Mother and children allege that the entertainment giant heartlessly pressured the star to deliver a comeback tour he was in no shape to take on.
By Victoria Kim and Harriet Ryan, Los Angeles Times
November 9, 2011
With the conviction this week of Michael Jackson's doctor on an involuntary manslaughter charge, the question of blame in the pop star's death shifts to a new and much wealthier defendant: Los Angeles entertainment behemoth Anschutz Entertainment Group.
The conclusion of the criminal case sets the stage for proceedings in civil court, where the pop star's mother and children are pressing a wrongful death suit against the corporation and its concert subsidiary, AEG Live, the promoter of Jackson's doomed comeback attempt.
The civil case, set for trial in September, pits the singer's three children and elderly mother against one of the city's most important companies at a time when AEG is pitching controversial plans for a downtown football stadium.
FULL COVERAGE: The trial of Dr. Conrad Murray
The case involves many of the same issues as the criminal trial: propofol, Jackson's performance anxiety and the medical choices of Dr. Conrad Murray.
But the proceedings are expected to delve into areas the criminal judge barred as irrelevant to Murray's role, including Jackson's finances and years of drug problems.
"The conviction of Dr. Murray is just the beginning of bringing forth the truth on what happened to Michael Jackson," said Brian Panish, an attorney for the Jackson family. "Forces much larger than Dr. Murray were involved in this tragedy."
Lawyers for the Jacksons, who are seeking an unspecified amount of money, have portrayed AEG in court papers as a heartless, bottom-line-driven business that contributed to the singer's death by pressuring him to prepare for performances he wasn't physically capable of pulling off. That pressure, they have written, pushed him toward Murray and the nightly use of propofol, a surgical anesthetic, for his insomnia.
"AEG said that if they called off the Tour, there would be lawsuits and Jackson's career would be over. They said Jackson must work with Murray," the Jacksons' lawyers wrote in a complaint last year.
AEG has denied the allegations in court filings, with its lawyers saying the company "in no way actually controlled" the singer.
"Michael Jackson was not helpless or incompetent; he lived in his own home, negotiated his own contracts, engaged his own attorneys, and cared for his own family," lawyers for the company wrote. "He at all times retained the option of refusing Dr. Murray's services, or of canceling his agreement with AEG."
The company's concern with the civil matter was on display at Murray's trial. The lead attorney for AEG in the wrongful death suit, Marvin Putnam, sat in the well of the court facing the witness box as three company officials testified.
Each of them told jurors that the company had no indication that Murray was anything but a competent physician, with his famous patient's best interests at heart.
"Dr. Murray told me repeatedly that Michael Jackson was perfectly healthy, in excellent condition," said Kathy Jorrie, a lawyer who helped draft Murray's $150,000-a-month contract.
Murray is not named in the suit filed by Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren, although he is named in a separate claim by the singer's father.
A lawyer for Katherine Jackson and her grandchildren said the choice not to sue the doctor reflected the family's belief that AEG bore primary responsibility.
"We believe the evidence shows that there is much more involvement from AEG, and that Murray's a minor player," Panish said.
Other legal experts saw a different calculus.
"He's got no money," said Loyola Law School professor Stan Goldman of the heavily indebted physician. It was smart strategy, he said, to keep Murray away from civil jurors: "Keep the focus on the deep pockets."
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