Michael Jackson Wrongful Death Suit Vs. AEG Can Proceed, Judge Rules

Katherine Jackson and family are pursuing a claim against concert promoter.
By Gil Kaufman


Michael Jackson

When he was alive, Michael Jackson was forever embroiled in a series of complex and expensive-sounding lawsuits. But even in death, the late King of Pop is the subject of major legal action. None could potentially be bigger than the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the pop icon's mother, Katherine Jackson, against concert promotion giant AEG Live.

Reuters reported that a Los Angeles judge ruled on Wednesday that the civil lawsuit can go forward. It will proceed in parallel with the criminal case against Jackson's physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Jackson's June 2009 death from an overdose of the powerful surgical anesthetic propofol. Murray is the only person charged in Jackson's death and he is currently awaiting trial in that matter.

Katherine Jackson's lawsuit — filed in September on behalf of her and Jackson's three young children — accuses AEG of being responsible for the medical decisions made by Murray, whose salary was paid by the touring company behind Jackson's attempted "This Is It" comeback shows in London. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos denied a motion on Wednesday by AEG to dismiss Katherine Jackson's suit, but warned Jackson's attorneys that they would need to show evidence of "fraud, negligent infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy" in order to win the case.

The judge has already said she doubts they can prove the latter charge, because the suit does not detail any agreement between Murray and AEG to break the law in providing medical care to Jackson.

"If the object was to get him to rehearsals, I don't see that as a wrongful or illegal act," the judge said. A lawyer for AEG told the judge that the company could not have predicted beforehand that Murray's medical decisions would result in Jackson's death. Court papers also show that AEG "did not choose to hire Murray" and had only participated in negotiations to bring him on as an independent contractor. Michael, who had previously been treated by Murray in Las Vegas, was reportedly the one who suggested the cardiologist serve as his personal, on-call physician during the "This Is It" rehearsals and shows.

Katherine Jackson's attorney recently dropped choreographer Kenny Ortega from the lawsuit based on new information they received about his actions. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 22, just six days before Murray is due back in court for his trial. Jackson's father, Joseph, has twice attempted to file a wrongful death suit in the matter, though his is focused on Murray and the Las Vegas pharmacy that supplied the propofol, not AEG Live.

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New Led Zeppelin On The Way? Jason Bonham Hints At 'Jam' Sessions With Jimmy Page -- But Not Robert Plant

Drummer admits he doesn't know what will come of 'new material.'
By Chris Harris


Jason Bonham
Photo: Larry Marano/ Getty Images

On Friday morning, mere hours before he was due to take the stage with classic rockers Foreigner at Detroit's GM Renaissance Center, drummer Jason Bonham — the son of late Led Zeppelin kitman John Bonham — told Jim Johnson and Lynne Woodison of local rock station 94.7 WCSX that he'd be an ex-member of Foreigner as of September 1. But that's not the only thing he said.

Much to the delight of Led Zeppelin fans everywhere, Bonham revealed that he's been meeting up with Led Zep guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones in recent months and that they've been "trying to do some new material and writing."

It was the first time since Led Zeppelin announced they would re-form for a single performance (which happened late last year at London's O2 Arena, in honor of the late Ahmet Ertegün, who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1969) that anyone connected to the band has confirmed publicly that new music could be on the horizon for the iconic rockers. While the bandmembers have stopped short of definitively ruling out such a reunion, singer Robert Plant insisted in the wake of last year's show that he intended to focus on promoting and touring behind his critically lauded album with bluegrass artist Alison Krauss, Raising Sand.

Not that Bonham knows what — if anything — will happen with the new material he's been working on with Page (who collaborated with pop singer Leona Lewis on an uneven version of Zep's "Whole Lotta Love" at the Olympic closing ceremonies in Beijing on Sunday night) and Jones. He said he just shows up and takes his seat behind the kit.

"I've been over [to England] a couple of times," Bonham said. "I've been working with Jimmy and John Paul and trying to do ... some new material and some writing. I don't know what it will be, but it will be something. At the moment, all I know is I have the great pleasure to go and jam with the two guys and start work on some material. When I get there, I never ask any questions. If I get a phone call to go and play, I enjoy every moment of it. Whatever it ends up as, to ever get a chance to jam with two people like that, it is a phenomenal thing for me. It's my life. It's what I've dreamed about doing."

He said it's still too early to tell what will become of these "jam" sessions, but admitted that the "possibility of doing something is in the cards. I really felt it was in the cards from the moment we walked offstage at the O2." Bonham also explained that, before there could be a Led Zep LP, "lots of politics [would need to] get ironed out," but added that recording with Zep is "something I've always wanted to do."

Bonham noticeably didn't mention frontman Plant's name during the discussion. A spokesperson for Page's management had no comment on the matter, and a spokesperson for Jones' management could not be reached by press time.

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Britney Spears Drops Official 'Till The World Ends' Remix

New track with Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha follows leaked version, plus Brit tweets single's cover art.
By Jocelyn Vena


The "Till the World Ends" Femme Fatale remix
Photo: Jive

Just days after it was leaked on Friday, Britney Spears and her femme fatales, Nicki Minaj and Ke$ha, dropped their official remix of "Till the World Ends."

The new version of the song was produced by Dr. Luke and Dream Machine. Brit half-whispers " 'Till the World Ends' remix" before the beat kicks in and Nicki hits her verse hard. She spits fierce lines like, "Sniff, sniff, cries/ I done slayed your whole entire f---ing life."

Then Britney's sex-kitten vocals kick in for the song's first verse. "That's Britney, bitch! I'm Nicki Minaj and that's Ke$ha," the Queens MC declares before K sings the chorus. The beat is harder, the loops are sassier and the song is grimier than the original version, which was the second single from Femme Fatale. The newly added dubstep portion takes the one from "Hold It Against Me" to a new level by adding in bass-heavy synths.

Ke$ha, of course, wrote the track for Britney, and the ladies certainly don't seem to mind sharing the spotlight with each other. The official track isn't much different than the version that leaked over the weekend, though Spears did have something brand-new to share with her fans just as the song dropped on iTunes and streamed on her website.

Spears tweeted the artwork for the single, which features the original press photo of Spears along with separate photos of Nicki on the left and Ke$ha on the right. Spears wrote, "@NickiMinaj @Keshasuxx Too much fierceness for one cover! Thanks for lending your voices girls... #TTWEREMIX — Brit"

Spears and Minaj have been hanging out a lot in the lead-up to their summer tour. They hung out at the Factory nightclub on Friday night after Minaj's show in Los Angeles. Spears later wrote, "Early rehearsal after a late night with my girl @NickiMinaj. Can't WAIT to get out on the road with you."

What do you think of the "Till the World Ends" remix? Tell us in the comments!

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