It seems as if Katherine Jackson, mother of the late Michael Jackson, just can’t win when it comes the legal dispute between her and her son’s estate. And thanks to a recent court ruling, it looks she definitively won’t.
For context and as previously reported by The Root, Katherine had been fighting against the co-executors of the estate in objection to their decision to “secretly” sell half of the late singer’s music catalog—for a whopping $600 million—to Sony Music Group back in February. By the beginning of summer, a probate court came to a tentative decision to reject her appeal, citing the fact that it had “no merit,” thereby allowing the estate to move forward with the sale.
Now, in new court documents filed on Wednesday, a Los Angeles appeals court (a higher court than the previous one) decided to uphold the prior ruling, essentially handing the estate the ultimate win and paving the way for the sale to be finalized. Per the LA Times, the court’s decision was based off the determination that the King of Pop’s will gave the executors “broad powers to buy and sell estate assets in the estate’s best interests” but it made it clear that “all of the estate’s assets will be distributed to the trust.” Katherine and Michael’s three children Paris, Prince, and Bigi are all beneficiaries to that trust.
The LA Times has more:
The appeals court also rejected Katherine Jackson’s challenge on grounds that she “forfeited her contention that the proposed transaction violates the terms of Michael’s will because she did not make that contention” in a lower court.
According to court documents, Katherine Jackson had previously complained that selling assets from Michael Jackson’s catalog would violate her son’s wishes, but acknowledged that executors had the power to do so. The appeals court also noted that Katherine Jackson was the only family member and beneficiary of the trust to formally object to the sale
“The proposed transaction is consistent with the terms of Michael’s will as so interpreted, and thus the probate court did not abuse its discretion by granting the executors’ petition,” the documents read.
As valued by Billboard, the estate rakes in about $75 million each year. Assets include: ownership of master recordings, publishing for Jackson’s share of his songs, his Mijac publishing catalog (home to hits from Sly & the Family Stone, Jackie Wilson and more), merch revenue, and royalties from theatrical shows like “MJ: The Musical.”
In the landmark deal with Sony Music Group, the company is to receive all of the aforementioned assets except for the royalties from the Broadway play and any other theatrical production featuring his songs.