Concert Promoter Found NOT GUILTY of Negligence by Hiring Conrad Murray to Treat Michael Jackson
- Katherine Jackson, the singer's mother, has lost her lawsuit against concert promoter AEG as she argued they were negligent
- Michael Jackson died from an overdose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009
- Singer had insomnia and Dr Conrad Murray ruled it OK to use propofol on a nightly basis even though it is normally just used during surgery
- Murray has since been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
- AEG attorneys said only Murray and Jackson knew he was on propofol
By Daily Mail UK, 3 October 2013
Gone: Michael Jackson died from an overdose of propofol in 2009
The jury in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial has ruled that the concert promoter was not negligent in hiring the doctor who treated the singer.
Jackson's mother sued concert promoter AEG Live LLC over the hiring of Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic propofol in 2009.
Katherine Jackson claimed AEG Live should have done a thorough background check on Murray. The Jackson family matriarch was seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for herself and her son's three children.
The company denied hiring Murray and said he had been picked by the singer as the doctor for his upcoming shows.
The panel of six men and six women began deliberating on September 26, more than five months after the start of the trial that offered an unprecedented look into the superstar's private life.
The case provided the closest look yet at Jackson's drug use and his battles against chronic pain and insomnia.
It also took jurors behind the scenes in the rough and tumble world of negotiations with one of the world's most famous entertainers looking to solidify his legendary status after scandal interrupted his career.
'We reached a verdict that we understand that not everybody is going to agree with,' jury foreman Gregg Barden said after the decision was reached.
Trouble: Dr Conrad Murray, who was already convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving Jackson an overdose of the anesthetic,
was the basis for the latest trial which was a lawsuit against the concert promoter
'But the decision was reached after very careful consideration of five months of testimony, thousands of documents and of course the guidance of the court.'
Witnesses said he saw the 'This Is It' concerts as a chance for personal redemption after being acquitted of child molestation.
But as the opening date of the shows approached, associates testified that he had bouts of insecurity and agonized over his inability to sleep.
They said he turned to the drug propofol and found Murray, who was willing to buy it in bulk and administer it to him on a nightly basis even though it is not meant to be used outside operating rooms.
Michael Jackson's mother loses multi-million dollar lawsuit
Saying their piece: Juror Gregg Barden spoke to the awaiting media after arriving at the not guilty verdict against AEG
All eyes on them: The group issued a joint statement saying that they knew not everyone would agree with them
Testimony at the civil trial showed that only Jackson and Murray knew he was taking the drug.
In his closing argument, AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam told jurors that the company would have pulled the plug on the shows if they knew he was using the anesthetic.
'AEG would have never agreed to finance this tour if they knew Mr. Jackson was playing Russian roulette in his bedroom every night,'
Brian Panish, a lawyer for the Jackson family, countered that AEG Live was negligent by not looking far enough to find out what it needed to know about Murray.
Major pull: At the time of his death Jackson was prepping for the 10-night 'This Is It' concert in London,
which was run by concert promoter AEG Live LLC, who the jury ruled was not negligent in hiring Murray
Those who live on: Michael's mother Katherine is now the trustee of his estate and
cares for his children, including daughter Paris (seen together in January 2012)
He claimed in his closing argument that the lure of riches turned the company and Murray into mercenaries who sacrificed the pop star's life in a quest to boost their own fortunes.
Panish asked jurors: 'Do people do things they shouldn't do for money? People do it every day.'
He said a $150,000-a-month contract to care for Jackson was a lifeline to help Murray climb out of his financial troubles, which included $500,000 in debt.
AEG Live, meanwhile, had only one interest — launching a world tour for the King of Pop that would yield untold millions in profits, the lawyer said.
AEG Live's lawyers framed the case as being about personal choice, saying Jackson made bad choices about the drug that killed him and the doctor who provided it. They said he was the architect of his own demise and no one else can be blamed.
Putnam said Jackson insisted on hiring the cardiologist, despite objections from AEG Live.
'It was his money and he certainly wasn't going to take no for an answer,' the lawyer said.
Putnam portrayed AEG Live and its executives as victims of deception by Jackson and Murray. He showed brief excerpts from the 'This Is It' documentary to show that Jackson appeared in top form just 12 hours before he died.
Making the case: Brian Panish was hired by Jackson's family to argue that AEG should have done
a background check on the doctor and found him to be unsuitable to treat the 'King of Pop'
Legal minds: Panish, seen here talking with AEG's attorneys Kathryn Cahan and Marvin Putnam, ultimately won the case
Closing argument: Putnam told jurors that the company would have pulled the plug on the shows if they knew he was using the anesthetic
'AEG Live did not have a crystal ball,' he said. 'Dr. Murray and Mr. Jackson fooled everyone. They want to blame AEG for something no one saw.'
Murray was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter for causing Jackson's death and is due to be released in October after serving a two year jail sentence.
Jurors heard testimony from more than 50 witnesses, including Jackson's mother and his eldest son, Prince, as well as days of testimony from AEG executives who were repeatedly asked about emails in which they discussed Jackson's missed rehearsals and described Murray's pay as a done deal.
They also heard about Jackson's close relationship to many of his doctors, including Murray, who he first met in Las Vegas in 2007.
Katherine Jackson called the case a search for the truth about the death of her son and the trial featured potentially embarrassing revelations for both sides. AEG's executives had their emails picked apart, revealing concerns that Jackson wouldn't be able to perform the shows as planned, that a lawyer at their parent company referred to Michael Jackson as 'the freak,' and that Jackson was derided even though the company had invested more than $30million in his shows.
AEG Live, meanwhile, laid out Jackson's medical history, presenting testimony about his use of drugs, including the powerful painkiller Demerol, for pain stemming from an accident that occurred decades ago while he was filming a Pepsi commercial. Jackson had no trace of that drug in his system when he died.
Legend lives on: Fans pay tribute to Jackson by imitating his signature moves outside the Los Angeles court
The lawyers called witnesses who recounted Jackson's use of propofol dating back to the 1990s. In 1997, two German doctors administered the anesthetic to help the singer sleep between shows in Munich.
A few years later, Jackson requested the anesthetic from a dental anesthesiologist who refused, as did another doctor who testified that Jackson kept a box of propofol in his bedroom at Neverland Ranch.
On the issue of possible damages, expert witnesses for the company said any estimate of Jackson's future earnings were speculative, and they showed the panel that the singer was deeply in debt and consistently spent more than he earned.
In the verdict form, jurors were first asked to decide the central question of the case — whether AEG Live hired Murray to treat Jackson. During the trial, they heard evidence that AEG had drafted a contract that was signed by Murray. But there were no indications that it was signed by AEG Live or Jackson.
Attorneys for the singer's mother argued that Jackson's signature was not necessary, but the company's attorneys said the contract required his consent to be binding.
Jackson's mother and his three children are supported by his estate, which provides a comfortable lifestyle for them and erased hundreds of millions of dollars in debts by debuting new projects and releasing new music featuring the King of Pop.
We found the truth!' Katherine Jackson feels vindicated... despite losing AEG Live lawsuit over death of son Michael
Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine says she feels vindicated, despite losing her wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live.
While a jury in Los Angeles cleared the company of negligence in the singer’s 2009 death on Wednesday, Katherine says she is relived the ‘truth’ about who hired Dr. Conrad Murray has been revealed.
She
said: ‘We have said from the beginning that this case was a search for the truth. We found the truth. AEG hired Dr. Conrad Murray, the man who is in jail for killing Michael Jackson.’
Appeal? - Katherine Jackson hasn't ruled out appealing the verdict
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