Katherine Jackson - AEG lawsuit : NEWS Only (No discussion)

[ivy]

ABC7 Court News ‏@ABC7Courts 7m
Putnam asked about the damages Mrs. Jackson asked for in her lawsuit. MJ's mother responded that he could ask her attorneys about it.
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Putnam: Did you ever ask MJ about having money problems?
Mrs. Jackson: No, because I didn't believe it. Because he wasn't.
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Putnam: You heard about MJ having money problems?
Mrs. Jackson: I heard for years Michael Jackson was broken and he wasn't
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And Mrs. Jackson asked: "What does this have to do with the death of my son?"
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"They were being offered money under the table, that's what I heard from my son," Mrs. Jackson testified.
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She also said MJ told her too that people were making deals on his behalf.
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Mrs. Jackson testified she heard stories about it.

Putnam: Who did you hear that from?
Mrs. Jackson: Just different people
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"They have been saying it for 15 years," Mrs. Jackson said. "People were taking money from him also, stealing I should say."
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Putnam: Where you aware MJ was having financial difficulties when he passed away?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes, I've heard from some people
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Regarding Michael having money problems, Mrs. Jackson said : "My son made a lot of money, he had people working for him."
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Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson had a bank account back in 2010 when she filed her lawsuit. She said she doesn't recall.
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Putnam asked again if there was any record of the money MJ gave her. She replied she didn't think she needed to.
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"When he gave me cash, it was a gift, I didn't think I needed to report to anyone," Mrs. Jackson said.
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"My son took care of me, food, shelter, clothes," Mrs. Jackson explained.
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"It was a gift," Mrs. Jackson said about the money she received from Michael. Putnam asked if she reported/recorded anywhere.
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Mrs. Jackson lives now in a gated community in Calabasas. Hayvenhurst house is under renovation.
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Putnam asking about the house in Gary, Indiana. It's been 44 years since she left and moved in to the Hayvenhurst house.
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The matriarch has a secretary, Janice Smith, who works for her for anywhere between 15-20 years. She has an office in Encino, CA.
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Mrs. Jackson said MJ would give her money in cash, but she would not write down the amounts.
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Putnam explained to Mrs. Jackson about the discovery process, where both sides have to exchange documents related to the case.
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Katherine Jackson back on the stand for cross examination. Session began at 9:55 am PT. Marvin Putnam, for AEG, doing the questioning.
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Katherine Jackson on the stand. Session about to begin. We'll bring you all the details as soon as possible.
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Judge told attorneys none of the steps have been taken yet, which means it's probably very unlikely they'd be able to get Dr. Murray in.
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Putnam responded on Friday he has no intention of calling him. Judge said there are several steps needed to bring an inmate to testify.
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Judge Yvette Palazuelos asked AEG attorney Marvin Putnam again on Friday whether he intends to call Dr. Murray to testify.
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@lozie49 Thank you! Exciting day in the UK!!!! We're all anxiously waiting for the Royal baby too!
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@_ValeJackson_ The latest estimate is mid-September. AEG attorney told judge he wants to conclude his case by the end of August.
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@THENOTORIOUSSS Session was set to begin about 20 minutes ago. It has not yet started.
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They wanted to call Rwamba today, but they said she has a medical condition (lupus) that may prevent her from coming.
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The only witnesses remaining for the Jacksons are Kenny Ortega (who needs to come back for cross) and nanny Grace Rwamba.
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What are your thoughts so far about the trial?Jacksons' attorney, Brian Panish, said he's ending his case in chief.
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Our reporter Miriam Hernandez is in the courtroom. We are in the overflow room, where a lot of fans are.
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@ElkeHassell We also hope you had a great weekend too! Thank you for following us! ;-)
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For all the latest news, watch @ABC7 and go to http://www.abc7.com
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Here's our Friday's story on Katherine's testimony: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/entertainment&id=9178213 …
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Session has not started yet. As a reminder, we can't live tweet, per judge's ruling. We'll bring you all the coverage as soon as we can.
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Mrs. Jackson spent a few hours on the stand on Friday detailing the humble beginning of MJ's life and how he rose to fame.
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Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine, is set to take the stand again today to resume cross examination.
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Hello from the courthouse in downtwon LA. Day 53 of Jackson Family vs AEG trial just about to begin. This is Week 13 of the trial.

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 53- July 22 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Michael Jackson's mother quizzed by promoter's lawyer
Rebbie Jackson, sister of the late singer Michael Jackson, arrives at the courthouse in Los Angeles on July 19, 2013. Their mother Katherine Jackson took the stand at her trial against tour promoters AEG Live, who she alleges negligently hired the doctor convicted over Michael's 2009 death.
Rebbie Jackson, sister of the late singer Michael Jackson, arrives at the courthouse in Los Angeles on July 19, 2013. Their mother Katherine Jackson took the stand at her trial against tour promoters AEG Live, who she alleges negligently hired the doctor convicted over Michael's 2009 death.
Katherine Jackson (C) arrives at the courthouse in Los Angeles for the sentencing of Conrad Murray on November 29, 2011. Michael Jackson's mother said he denied abusing drugs despite at least one "intervention" before his 2009 death, as lawyers for promoters of his last tour grilled her in court.
Katherine Jackson (C) arrives at the courthouse in Los Angeles for the sentencing of Conrad Murray on November 29, 2011. Michael Jackson's mother said he denied abusing drugs despite at least one "intervention" before his 2009 death, as lawyers for promoters of his last tour grilled her in court.
AFP - Michael Jackson denied abusing drugs despite at least one family "intervention" before his 2009 death, his mother said Monday as lawyers for promoters of his doomed last tour grilled her in court.

Eighty-three year-old Katherine Jackson also rebuffed a question about the amount of money she is seeking in damages from AEG Live, saying: "You can talk to my lawyers about that."

She recalled the only time she asked her son about widespread rumors that he was abusing drugs.

"Well I'm his mother and quite naturally he denied because he wouldn't want me to think that...he's not going to admit that," she said, adding that she knew he was taking prescription painkillers.

"I knew he was taking them. I didn't think he might have been abusing them," she added, recounting the exchange with her son at his Las Vegas home, some time after he returned from living abroad following his 2005 child molestation trial.

The Jackson family matriarch accuses AEG Live of pushing her son too hard as he rehearsed in Los Angeles for a series of "This is It" comeback concerts in London, and of negligently hiring doctor Conrad Murray to look after him.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 over Jackson's June 25, 2009 death from an overdose of the surgical anaesthetic propofol, administered to help the 50-year-old singer with chronic insomnia.

Jackson's 16-year-old son Prince testified last month that his exhausted father warned AEG Live was going to "kill" him as he rehearsed for the marathon concert tour.

Katherine Jackson wept in court on the first day of testimony Friday, which was cut short when she appeared confused, a short time after AEG Live's lawyer Marvin Putnam began quizzing her.

On Monday Putnam resumed his questioning. In tense exchanges, he asked her about the figure of $1.5 to 1.7 billion she was reportedly seeking in damages from the tour promoter.

"You can talk to my lawyers about that," she said icily.

He also quizzed her at length about a family "intervention" in 2002, when she and various children including Janet and Rebbie went to confront Jackson about his reported drug problems at his Neverland ranch.

But the confrontation came to nothing, she said, after the singer appeared upset when he realized why they were there. "We just saw that he was okay and he was upset, so we didn't talk about it," she said.

 

[ivy]

Michael Jackson's mother quizzed by promoter's lawyer
By Michael Thurston (AFP) – 17 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson denied abusing drugs despite at least one family "intervention" before his 2009 death, his mother said Monday as she was grilled by lawyers for his doomed last tour's promoters.
Eighty-three year-old Katherine Jackson also rebuffed a question about the amount of money she is seeking in damages from AEG Live, saying: "You can talk to my lawyers about that."
She recalled the only time she asked her son about widespread rumors that he was abusing drugs.
"Well I'm his mother and quite naturally he denied because he wouldn't want me to think that...he's not going to admit that," she said, adding that she knew he was taking prescription painkillers.
"I knew he was taking them. I didn't think he might have been abusing them," she added, recounting the exchange with her son at his Las Vegas home, some time after he returned from living abroad following his 2005 child molestation trial.
The Jackson family matriarch accuses AEG Live of pushing her son too hard as he rehearsed in Los Angeles for a series of "This is It" comeback concerts in London, and of negligently hiring doctor Conrad Murray to look after him.
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 over Jackson's June 25, 2009 death from an overdose of the surgical anaesthetic propofol, administered to help the 50-year-old singer with chronic insomnia.
Jackson's 16-year-old son Prince testified last month his exhausted father warned AEG Live was going to "kill" him as he rehearsed for the marathon concert tour.
Katherine Jackson wept in court on the first day of testimony Friday, which was cut short when she appeared confused, a short time after AEG Live's lawyer Marvin Putnam began questioning her.
On Monday Putnam resumed his examination. In tense exchanges, he asked her about the figure of $1.5-1.7 billion she was reportedly seeking in damages from the tour promoter.
"You can talk to my lawyers about that," she said icily.
The $1.5 billion figure was given at the start of the trial as an evaluation of lost income and an unspecified amount for emotional loss and other damages caused by Jackson's death.
Jackson was widely reported to have huge debts after his career imploded due to the child molestation scandal. The London shows -- expected to be followed by a world tour -- would have salvaged his finances.
But his mother said she did not believe he had financial problems. After initially asking Putnam "What does this have to do with the death of my son?" she said: "I heard for years that Michael was broke, and he wasn't...I didn't believe it, because he wasn't."
Putnam also quizzed her at length about a family "intervention" in 2002, when she and various children including Janet and Rebbie went to confront Jackson about his reported drug problems at his Neverland ranch.
But the confrontation came to nothing, she said, after the singer appeared upset when he realized why they were there. "We just saw that he was okay and he was upset, so we didn't talk about it," she said.
Putnam repeated several of his questions multiple times, as Jackson -- whose voice was at times barely audible, even through a court microphone, said she either didn't understand or could not remember, at one point noting that she was 83 years old.
She provoked laughter when answering a question about whether her son had ever seemed "out of it" when she spoke to him on the phone. "Out of what?" she said, before Putnam explained the meaning of the phrase.

 

[ivy]

Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine loses cool on witness stand when questioned about son’s drug dependency
King of Pop's mom, suing concert promoter AEG Live for $1 billion, says Michael Jackson bore no personal responsibility in his 2009 overdose death

BY NANCY DILLON / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

PUBLISHED: MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013, 5:16 PM
UPDATED: MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013, 5:16 PM
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A courtroom sketch depicting the testimony of Katherine Jackson, mother of late pop star Michael Jackson, as she took the stand in the family’s lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live.

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Michael Jackson's mom turned testy on the witness stand Monday, snapping at a lawyer who questioned her about the King of Pop's drug dependency.

Katherine Jackson said the "Thriller" singer bore no personal responsibility in his 2009 overdose death and that he denied abusing pain pills during their one and only private conversation on the topic in Las Vegas.

The famous music matriarch lost her cool when a lawyer for the concert promoter she's suing for more than $1 billion asked her repeatedly about the date and details of the mother-son meeting in Vegas.

"I'm not answering that question," she shot back at one query she felt "didn't make sense."

She then accused the lawyer of intentionally trying to trap over the exact wording of the confrontation.

"You're just getting me confused so you'll have something to come back on," the 83-year-old said sternly.

Michael Jackson rehearses at the Staples Centerfor his world tour just weeks before his death.
KEVIN MAZUR/AP

Michael Jackson rehearses at the Staples Centerfor his world tour just weeks before his death.

RELATED: MICHAEL JACKSON’S MOTHER TESTIFIES IN WRONGFUL DEATH TRIAL

"I don't want to get into this," she said when asked about her superstar son's finances.

The lawyer for AEG Live reminded Katherine that it was his job to ask questions because she wants a mountain of money for the claim AEG negligently hired Dr. Conrad Murray, the personal physican now serving four years for overdosing her son.

AEG denies any wrongdoing in the case, saying it was Michael who personally hired Murray and secretly begged for propofol, the surgery-strength anesthetic that killed him.

Katherine testified Monday that she never personally witnessed her son abusing drugs and that he relied on doctors to do the right thing.

"Even though he asked for (propofol), (Murray) could have said no," she said softly but forcefully.

The King of Pop died in 2009 of an overdose of propofol, a sleep aid.
GETTY IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

The King of Pop died in 2009 of an overdose of propofol, a sleep aid.

Katherine also recalled joining her daughter Janet and other relatives for a surprise intervention at Neverland Ranch in 2002. She said Michael was upset by the intrusion and appeared to be sober.

RELATED: ***** TOUR MONEY WOULD'VE GONE TO MOLESTATION TRIALS COSTS: LAWYERS

"There were no deep discussion or anything like that. When we got there, he was okay, he was upset," she recalled. "It was kind of embarassing."

She then was asked about an open letter to the media that she signed in 2007 along with several of Michael's siblings. It denied Michael had a drug problem and any history of a family intervention.

"Why would you sign it if it wasn't true?" Putnam asked.

"I wanted (to stop) things that weren't true," she said, appearing confused.

Katherine Jackson arrives at the world premiere of
ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES FOR CIRQUE DU SOLEI

Katherine Jackson arrives at the world premiere of "Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil" at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay in June.

Putnam also grilled Katherine on the timing of her lawsuit, which was filed a year before Murray's 2011 criminal trial.

"Prior to the trial...did you ever talk to your grandchildren about the fact that Dr. Murray treated Michael Jackson upstairs in a bedroom behind locked doors," Putnam asked.

PHOTOS: MICHAEL JACKSON'S LIFE IN PHOTOS

"No," she replied.

"Mrs. Jackson, you do believe that Dr. Conrad Murray has some responsibility for your son's death, do you not?" he asked.

"Of course," she said.

After Katherine's first day of testimony last Friday, Putnam told the Daily News he believes she was in the same uninformed position as AEG prior to Michael's June 2009 death.

"As Katherine Jackson has now testified, she was in the dark about her son Michael Jackson's decades of drug use and 'closes her ears' whenever someone discloses anything negative about him," he said.

"She doesn't want anyone or anything to disturb her idealized memory of the child she lost," he said. "Who can blame her?"



Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...yer-questions-article-1.1406059#ixzz2ZoQjAgal

 

[ivy]

Katherine Jackson contentious, forgetful when asked about son Michael
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By Jeff Gottlieb
July 22, 2013, 2:52 p.m.
As she moved from the emotion of her earlier testimony to specifics Monday, Michael Jackson's mother come across as a contentious and forgetful 83-year-old who contradicted herself while trying to defend her son.

Asked about reports that she and her other children had staged an intervention effort at Michael’s Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County in 2002, Katherine Jackson testified that her son didn't know why his family had driven there and made it sound as if the visit had turned into a social gathering.

“We just saw he was OK and was upset, and ... there was no deep discussion or anything," she said under questioning.

FULL COVERAGE: AEG wrongful-death trial

She said that neither she nor her other children questioned the singer about his use of prescription medication.

Katherine Jackson and the pop singer’s three children are suing entertainment giant AEG Live, claiming that the firm is complicit in the entertainer’s 2009 death. On the stand Friday, the entertainer's mother was a powerful witness, at times smiling as she recounted memories of her son as a baby and then weeping as she recalled the day he died.

On Monday, she seemed unfamiliar with some of the details of Michael’s life. She told the court she didn’t know her son's "Dangerous" tour had come to an early ending in 1993 when Elizabeth Taylor flew to Mexico City to take the singer to a rehab program in London.

Katherine Jackson testified that she’d she heard that Taylor had said something about her son going into rehab but didn't seem particularly curious about it.

“Nobody came to me and said anything about it," she said. "My children probably didn’t want me to worry.”

She said she didn't know that her son’s worldwide tour had been cut short. "I don't like to hear bad news," she said.

In the wrongful death suit, the family contends that AEG Live negligently hired and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who gave the singer a dose of the anesthetic propofol that killed him on June 25, 2009. AEG, which was producing the pop star’s “This Is It” comeback tour, says it was the singer who hired Murray.

Katherine Jackson has spent much of the 2 ½-month trial sitting in the front row of the spectator section with a nephew.

At times her anger toward AEG attorney Marvin Putnam flared, and she refused to answer some questions. Putnam tried to parry with her at least once. She had a hard time recalling how long her assistant had worked for her but corrected Putnam over how long it had been since she had lived in Gary, Ind.

After a small portion of her deposition was shown to the jury, her temper erupted.

“Why are you doing this to me?" she asked. "You’re asking me the same question 50 times, but you’re just rephrasing them."

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 53- July 22 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Jackson's mother tearfully concludes testimony
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Source: Music News
Originally published: Jul 22, 2013 - 3:01 pm

FILE - In this June 29, 2013 file photo, Prince Jackson, left, and Katherine Jackson arrive at the world premiere of "Michael Jackson ONE" at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The Jackson family matriarch tearfully testified in a Los Angeles courtroom on Friday, July 19, 2013, about her son, Michael Jackson's death and her concerns about the pace of his planned comeback concerts. She is suing concert promoter AEG Live LLC, claiming it failed to properly investigate the doctor who administered a fatal dose of anesthetic to her son in June 2009. (Photo by David Becker/Invision/AP, File)
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LOS ANGELES (AP) - Michael Jackson's mother has told a jury she believes the promoters of her son's ill-fated comeback concerts watched her son waste away before his death.

Katherine Jackson tearfully testified Monday that she didn't know about emails discussing her son's health until after a trial against AEG Live LLC began nearly three months ago.

The 83-year-old is suing AEG Live, claiming it negligently hired the doctor convicted of giving her son an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

She told jurors that AEG's executives should have called her to discuss issues with Jackson's health before his death in June 2009.

She made the comments about AEG's actions after a lawyer for the company questioned her stated motive for the lawsuit, which she says is a search for the truth.

AEG denies wrongdoing.

 

[ivy]

Jackson's mother tearfully concludes testimony
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FILE - In this June 29, 2013 file photo, Prince Jackson, left, and Katherine Jackson arrive at the world premiere of "Michael Jackson ONE" at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The Jackson family matriarch tearfully testified in a Los Angeles courtroom on Friday, July 19, 2013, about her son, Michael Jackson's death and her concerns about the pace of his planned comeback concerts. She is suing concert promoter AEG Live LLC, claiming it failed to properly investigate the doctor who administered a fatal dose of anesthetic to her son in June 2009. (Photo by David Becker/Invision/AP, File).
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Associated Press ANTHONY McCARTNEY 22 minutes ago
Arts & EntertainmentCelebrities

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The promoters of Michael Jackson's ill-fated comeback concerts watched the singer waste away and should have reached out to his family for help, the superstar's mother tearfully told a jury on Monday.

Clutching a tissue and hanging her head at times, Katherine Jackson said she didn't know the extent of her son's weakness until after the start of her trial against AEG Live LLC.

"They watched him waste away," she said after her attorney cited several emails from top workers preparing for the "This Is It" shows. The messages described her son's condition as deteriorating and cited his inability to rehearse.

"They could have called me," Katherine Jackson, 83, said. "He was asking me for his father. My grandson told me that his daddy was nervous and scared."

Her comments came under questioning from her attorney, Brian Panish.

Moments earlier, an attorney for AEG Live had questioned why the Jackson family matriarch —if her purpose for filing the lawsuit was to find out the truth about her son's death, as she had testified — hadn't read through thousands of pages of deposition testimony, or asked her grandchildren about what happened in her son's rented mansion before his June 2009 death.

She later said that while she could have asked her grandchildren about some issues, she didn't want to bring it up with them.

She also said that she didn't see a photograph of her son shot six days before her his death until after the trial started.

Katherine Jackson at first didn't seem to want to look at the photo, which has been repeatedly displayed during the trial and shows her son wearing a T-shirt, his arms thin and bones visible in his upper chest.

Katherine Jackson claims AEG Live failed to properly investigate Dr. Conrad Murray, who was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving the singer an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

AEG defense attorney Marvin S. Putnam told jurors during opening statements in the negligence lawsuit in April that the case centered on personal responsibility — specifically Michael Jackson's decision to ask Murray to administer propofol as a sleep aid while he prepared for his shows.

AEG Live denies it hired the doctor or bears any responsibility for Jackson's death.

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FILE - In this April 27, 2011 file photo, Katherine …
FILE - In this April 27, 2011 file photo, Katherine Jackson poses for a portrait in Calabasas, Calif …
Katherine Jackson said she believes AEG Live hired Murray, not her son. She said she never heard of the cardiologist until her son died, and indicated that she felt Murray bore responsibility for her son's death.

"Even though he asked for it, he could have said no," she said of Murray.

Putnam also asked Katherine Jackson about her son's payments to her over the years. She said he directly paid many of the expenses on her home and would occasionally give her cash as a gift.

Saying she didn't keep track of the payments, Katherine Jackson appeared to being annoyed at the questions.

"What does this have to do with the death of my son," she asked Putnam.

The attorney also asked her about conversations she had with her son about prescription drug use.

She said she asked him about it when he lived in Las Vegas and he denied he was abusing prescription medications.

"I'm a mother, quite naturally he denied it," she said. "He wouldn't want me to think that."

She said she was aware her son took medications for pain in his back and scalp after he sustained injuries over his career. She said she never saw signs that her son was abusing medications, including when she and several of her children went to the singer's Neverland Ranch in 2002 for an intervention.

Her son was fine but upset that they thought he had a problem, she said.

 

[ivy]

Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 24m
I've got to head back into court. Just posted my updated story. Will have additional updates at the end of the day.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 24m
Michael Jackson's mother, in tears, says concert execs never reached out about his health: http://yhoo.it/1624kQp
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Katherine Jackson: “I’m a mother, quite naturally he denied it. He wouldn't want me to think that.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
She said she asked him about his prescription medication use. Mrs. Jackson said her son denied he had a problem.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Katherine Jackson said she and her son stepped into a theater at the home that was near the front door and talked about it.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Putnam then asked about Mrs. Jackson’s conversation with her son in Las Vegas regarding his prescription drug use.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Mrs. Jackson mentioned that her other children told her they believed Michael Jackson had a problem with prescription meds.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
The lawyer then asked whether Mrs. Jackson ever saw her son when she thought he was under the influence of any drug. She said no.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Putnam questioned whether the decision was made in consideration of the civil case. Mrs. Jackson said no. “I never gave it a thought.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 27m
Mrs. Jackson said, “I felt that his children needed it.”
She mentioned she knew Murray had 7 or 8 children.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 27m
Going back to updates from the morning session. Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson about dropping the $100 million restitution claim against Murray.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 48m
AEG Live executive John Meglen is the next witness. He's a defense witness and started testifying after Katherine Jackson finished.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 50m
After Mrs. Jackson finished testifying, plaintiff's attorney Brian Panish and a baliff helped her step down.
She has left for the day.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 51m
I'll have an updated story out shortly. Trial is on a short break right now.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 51m
Katherine Jackson has concluded her testimony.
Here's a short story on her afternoon testimony: http://bit.ly/15D22Yd

 

[ivy]

Katherine Jackson concludes tearful testimony: 'They watched him waste away'
Maria Elena Fernandez NBC News
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4 hours ago

Katherine Jackson arrives at the world premiere of "Michael Jackson ONE" by Cirque du Soleil" in Las Vegas in 2012.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Katherine Jackson in Las Vegas in June 2012.
Katherine Jackson's two-day stint on a Los Angeles courtroom witness stand ended with the 83-year-old grandmother tearfully declaring that concert promoter AEG Live never told her family that Michael Jackson was sleep-deprived for 60 days, was paranoid, losing weight and deteriorating before everyone's eyes.

"They watched him waste away," she testified. "They could have called me. He was asking for his father. My grandson told me that his daddy was nervous and scared." Katherine was referring to concert promoters AEG Live, the entertainment company that was in charge of Michael Jackson's ill-fated comeback tour and that she is suing for negligence.

Clutching a tissue, and appearing confused and sometimes citing memory problems, Katherine said she didn't know the extent of her son's weakness until the trial began. Repeating her testimony from Friday that she was not aware her son was a drug addict, Katherine said that she never saw her son under the influence of drugs and never saw him “loopy, or out of it," even on the telephone. But, after her other children told her they believed he was addicted to prescription drugs and Michael denied it to her, she participated in an intervention at the Neverland ranch in 2002.

“I knew he was taking them (pain pills) but I didn’t know he was abusing them,” Katherine told the jury. She said Michael was upset when the family staged the intervention "because when we got there, there was nothing wrong with him.” The intervention, she added, didn't really take place because he was upset and yelled at them and she became embarrassed to be there, she testified.

On cross-examination, AEG's lawyer showed Katherine an open letter to the media she signed and released in 2007 denying there was ever a family intervention and also denying that Michael Jackson was addicted to drugs and alcohol. The lawyer also played a 2010 Oprah interview in which Katherine admitted that Michael was an addict.

Katherine and Michael Jackson's three children have sued AEG Live claiming the entertainment company that promoted the King of Pop's last concerts failed to pick up on warning signs that could have saved his life. As part of the lawsuit, the Jackson family also alleges that AEG did not properly investigate Conrad Murray, the doctor who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the superstar's death in 2011 and sentenced to four years in prison.

"Even though [Michael] asked for it, [Murray]could have said no," Katherine testified.

Jackson died while rehearsing his 50-show comeback tour in London, three weeks before the tour was to start. His two eldest children have also testified at the trial, 16-year-old Michael Jackson, Jr. known as "Prince," who testified about his relationship with his dad and the harrowing day he lost his father; and his sister, Paris, 15, who offered videotaped testimony. Paris is currently being treated in a hospital after a suicide attempt in June. On Friday, her grandmother testified that Paris tried to kill herself "because she wanted to be with daddy."

On Monday, Katherine testified that she did not believe her son was responsible for his death. When questioned by AEG lead counsel Marvin Putnam, she "did not remember" if she attended Murray's manslaughter trial and assisted the prosecution in that case.

Katherine also said she did not know that her son used Propofol and that he gave Murray money "because he felt bad for [him] because he didn't have no money--not because he had hired him." Despite the fact that she is “83-year-old and may not remember everything clearly,” Katherine testified that she distinctly remembers that AEG hired Murray--not her son. She had no idea the doctor spent six nights a week at her son's home.

Katherine could not recall if she had a bank account in 2010 and said she was surprised to learn that her son was having financial problems before his death. “I heard that from different people,” she said. “I heard for years that Michael Jackson was broke but he wasn’t.”

Katherine, who has been taking care of her son's children since he died, said that Michael paid many of her living expenses and would sometimes give her extra spending cash. When asked why she didn't keep a record of the payments her son made on her behalf, Katherine appeared annoyed: "What does this have to do with the death of my son?"

At the conclusion of her testimony, Katherine left the courtroom to rest. The trial, in its 13th week, continues.

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 53- July 22 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

NEWS/ Katherine Jackson Testifies at Michael Jackson Trial: I Didn't Know He Was Abusing Pills
by Lily Harrison and Claudia Rosenbaum Today 4:50 PM PDT

Katherine Jackson
Pool Photographer/Getty Images
Katherine Jackson resumed her testimony in court today in the wrongful death trial of her late son, Michael Jackson.
The Jackson matriarch admitted that she was surprised to learn that her son was having financial issues before his 2009 death.
"I heard that from different people," she said in front of a jury. "I heard for years that Michael Jackson was broke but he wasn't."
Katherine also told the courtroom that she didn't believe that Michael was responsible for his own death. But when AEG lead counsel Marvin Putnam asked if she had been in attendance for Conrad Murray's manslaughter trial and whether she assisted the District Attorney in his prosecution, she said she "didn't remember."
NEWS: Paris Jackson testifies in MIchael Jackson wrongful death trial
She added that Michael only gave Dr. Murray money out of pity and that he was hired by AEG and not her son.
"[Michael] felt bad for Dr. Murray because he didn't have no money," she said.
The 83-year-old explained that she never saw her son under the influence of drugs and never saw him "loopy or out of it."
Katherine explained that her other children had expressed concern that Michael may have had a problem with prescription drugs, but he ultimately denied it when she confronted him.
She said that his denial didn't surprise her because what son would want to tell their mother about their possible drug abuse.
NEWS: Conrad Murray gives first interview from jail
Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson
HECTOR MATA/AFP/Getty Images
"I knew he was taking them [pain pills] but I didn't know he was abusing them," she said.
Towards the end of her testimony, she revealed that she took part in an intervention at the Neverland Ranch in 2002.
She said that Michael was upset "because when we got there, there was nothing wrong with him."
She later said that Michael was angry to the point of yelling at his family members and that she was embarrassed to be present for the incident.
Katherine also then said she did not remember a doctor talking to her about Michael getting a Narcon implant to curb his drug use. Right after Katherine told the court that to her knowledge Michael was not addicted to pain killers, attorneys for AEG played her interview with Oprah in 2010 where she made contradictory statements and admitted that Michael was addicted to drugs.
NEWS: Jury seated for Michael Jackson wrongful death trial
She also later admitted that besides Michael's monthly checks, Katherine received $10,000 a month from daughter Janet. She also said she currently does not own a computer and does not know how to send an email.
She concluded her testimony by saying that AEG did nothing to commemorate Michael after his death. She said they never sent her flowers or a card. But then she admitted they did put on a big event celebration on the Staples Center.
The judge dismissed her in the afternoon after almost two full days on the stand.

 

[ivy]

Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 29s
Around this point, the court broke for lunch.
It'll take me a bit to go through notes from the afternoon session.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 1m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson shut out hearing bad news about her son ending the Dangerous tour. She said she didn't remember how it ended.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
“I probably said it, but I don’t remember saying it,” Mrs. Jackson said, adding, “I don’t like to hear bad news.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Putnam: “Mrs. Jackson on Friday, you mentioned that you shut your ears to bad things. Do you remember saying that?”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
She said she hadn’t heard about it or seen it before it was played in court.
She said she didn’t watch much television.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson if she was aware of her son’s statement at the end of the “Dangerous” tour indicating a prescription drug problem.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Putnam was able to show Mrs. Jackson her son Randy’s deposition after saying he would call him as a witness later. Depo wasn’t shown to jury
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Putnam at one point brought up Randy Jackson’s deposition and asked Mrs. Jackson if she had read any of her children’s depos. She said no.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
(I had to step out to file, so my notes are a bit incomplete on the letter.)
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
The letter was regarding reports about her son’s prescription drug use. I believe it was from 2007.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson several questions about a letter she and other Jackson family members signed regarding an intervention.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Mrs. Jackson said she recalled Putnam “asking me the same question about 50 times and rephrasing them differently.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
“I was just tired of you,” Katherine Jackson said of Putnam.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
Today, Katherine Jackson said she didn’t recall whether he said that phrase or not. “I wasn’t trying to lie,” she said. (cont)
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
Putnam asked about Katherine Jackson’s deposition, when she recalled her son saying, “’I’m not on it.’”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
She said he was upset that his family came for an intervention, but there wasn't any “deep discussion” about it.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
“When we got there, there was nothing wrong with him,” Mrs. Jackson said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
Mrs. Jackson was asked about the 2002 intervention attempt at Neverland Ranch. Mrs. Jackson said her son was fine.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
“I knew he was taking it. I didn’t think he was abusing it,” Katherine Jackson said about her son Michael's prescription drug use.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
Putnam asked if there was ever a time she believed her son was abusing prescription meds. “No,” she said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
“You keep asking the same questions and I’ve answered it,” Mrs. Jackson said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
There were more questions about Michael Jackson’s prescription drug use. Putnam said he was trying to understand the testimony.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
“He’s still my child,” she replied. She added, “He’d still want me to hold his respect.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
“He respects his mother, he don’t want her to think that he’s doing something that bad,” Mrs. Jackson said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
She likened her son’s denial to a young child who went out and disobeyed his mother and then denied it. “I’m sure you understand,” she said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
After a few more questions, Mrs. Jackson told Putnam she didn’t have to either “drill me” or “grill me” like this.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
“To me, it doesn’t make sense,” Katherine Jackson said. “I didn’t know he was going to deny it. But he did it.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Putnam: “If you knew your son was going to deny it, why did you ask him?”
Mrs. Jackson: “I’m not answering that question.”
Putnam: “Why?”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Putnam continued to ask a series of questions about Jackson’s prescription drug use and his denials.
Expand
Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
Some additional updates from Katherine Jackson’s testimony coming up. This next series will take us up to the lunch break.
Expand

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 53- July 22 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 7m
Tito, Marlon, Jackie, Jermaine, Katherine signed this letter. Putnam asked why she signed it if it wasn't true, she said I wanted it to stop
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 8m
"There are lies, these are all lies," Mrs. Jackson said. "We didn't try to take his business away."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 9m
Mrs. Jackson said she never attempted to take her son's business. Just because it's in the magazine tabloids doesn't make it true, she said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 9m
Mrs. Jackson: We were not trying to take away the business or anything like that. That's a lie.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 10m
Putnam showed a letter on People Magazine (Sept. 7, 2007) the family sent about MJ not addicted to pain killers and alcohol.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 11m
After intervention at Neverland in 2002 Putnam asked if her mind changed about MJ abusing drugs. She said she didn't know one way or another
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 12m
"I knew he was on prescription drugs, but he was not abusing it," Mrs. Jackson said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 12m
Putnam: Do you remember in your deposition you didn't know whether to believe your son at all?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 13m
Mrs. Jackson said she was upset with Putnam during deposition. "I was just tired of you asking the same question 50 times in different ways"
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 14m
Putnam asked if at the intervention MJ denied he was on influence of prescription drugs?
Mrs. Jackson: To tell you the truth, I don't know
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ABC7 Court NewsABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 14m
Putnam played part of Mrs. Jackson's deposition where she said she knew MJ was upset, by the way he talked, said "I'm not on it," that's all
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 16m
Putnam: After he got upset, did he say to you "I'm not on it, I'm not on anything?"
Mrs. Jackson: He didn't say that
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 16m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson saw him upset. "If I said he was upset, I did see it," she responded.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 17m
Mrs. Jackson: It was kind of embarrassing, because they didn't see anything.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 18m
"He didn't deny anything, he was ok," Mrs. Jackson said. There was no deep discussion, we got there and he was ok, he was upset."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 18m
"We asked if he was okay, he got upset and we didn't talk about it," Mrs. Jackson explained.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 19m
Putnam asked if MJ was mad they came for an intervention.
Mrs. Jackson: Yes, because when we got there, there was nothing wrong with him
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 20m
Putnam: Do you recall this taking place in 2002?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes

Mrs. Jackson said she doesn't believe MJ knew why they were there.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 20m
She said there was a person who came along that Janet brought specialized in intervention.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 20m
She doesn't remember all the siblings present, but probably Janet, Rebbie and Randy were there.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 20m
Even tough Mrs. Jackson didn't believe MJ was abusing prescription drugs she was part of an intervention at Neverland.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 21m
"I believe he was taking it, but I don't believe he was abusing it" Mrs Jackson said. "I just asked him the question, I wanted to make sure"
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 22m
Putnam: Has there ever been a time you believe your son was abusing prescription drugs?
Mrs. Jackson: No
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 22m
Mrs. Jackson: You do understand (the answer) and you keep asking the same question
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 22m
Mrs. Jackson: You're just trying to confuse me so that you can come back with something.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 23m
Putnam: He wasn't a child but 50 years old?
Mrs Jackson: He was still my child, I'm still his mother and he wants to hold his respect for me
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 26m
Mrs. Jackson: My child, he respected his mother he didn't want to hurt if it was bad
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 26m
Mrs. Jackson to Putnam: I don't think it's that serious that you have to drill it like that on me.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 26m
"It's because he didn't want me to worry," Mrs. Jackson said. "I just talked to him about it."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Mrs. Jackson: I'm not answering that question. Because to me it doesn't make sense. I didn't know he was going to deny it.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Putnam: If you knew your son was going to deny it, why did you ask him?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Mrs. Jackson: It didn't surprise me, I'm the mother, he would not want his mother to worry about him.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
Mrs. Jackson said she didn't know MJ was taking pain pills, she couldn't prove it, that's what she had heard.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
"I was his mother, I imagined he'd deny it," Mrs. Jackson explained. "No child is going to admit it, if I heard something bad about them."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
Putnam: When you said that, he denied it, right?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes he did
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
"I've heard that something had happened to him," Mrs. Jackson described.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Mrs. Jackson spoke with Michael about what she heard of him using prescription drugs.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Putnam inquired if MJ left the country after the trial. She said yes. When MJ came back he lived in Las Vegas never lived in Neverland again
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson is she remembers her son's criminal trial in 2005. She said yes, and that she attended the trial every day.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
"A couple of children came to me and told me they had heard about it," Mrs. Jackson said. She had conversation w/ MJ about it in Las Vegas.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson's children told her MJ was under the influence of something. She said yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Putnam: Did you ever speak with your son on the phone when he was out of it?
Mrs. Jackson: No. Out of what?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
She would show up at the house unannounced and said she never saw her son "loopy".
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson ever saw MJ under the influence of any drug. She said no, that it's something she never saw during his lifetime
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Putnam: Did you drop the restitution claim so you could file this lawsuit?
Mrs. Jackson: No
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Mrs. Jackson said she believes the DA may have dropped the $100 million restitution claim.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Mrs. Jackson: I asked them to drop it because of his children, he has quite a few children, 7 or 8, I don't know.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
Putnam: You asked the DA to drop the $100 million restitution claim against Dr. Murray?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
"Because I felt his children needed him to take care of them," she explained. "He didn't have any money."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
Mrs. Jackson said yes, that Dr. Murray has children and has no money.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
Putnam inquired about Mrs. Jackson asking the District Attorney to drop the $100 million restitution against Dr. Murray.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 34m
He asked if the doctor is now in jail. "I hope he is," she responded.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 34m
Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson if Dr. Murray was convicted in the criminal trial. She said yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 36m
Putnam: You do believe Dr. Murray has some responsibility for your son's death?
Mrs. Jackson: Of course
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 36m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson talked to her grandchildren about Dr. Murray treating MJ in a locked, upstairs bedroom. She answered no.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 36m
"It would've been important but I told you I didn't talk to my grandchildren about that," Mrs. Jackson responded.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 37m
Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson's search for the truth and if she thought it would be important to know whether the doctor spending the nights.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 39m
Putnam: Do you remember him (Prince) saying he (the doctor) spent 6 nights a week?
Mrs. Jackson: No, I don't remember that
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 39m
Putnam asked if Prince testified a doctor was spending the nights at the house.
Mrs. Jackson: I don't remember him saying that
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 40m
Putnam: Did you ever have conversation with your grandchildren prior to trial about the doctor spending the night at the house? She said no
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 42m
Putnam: Prior to your son's death, did you know your son had a doctor spending the night at the house?
Mrs. Jackson: No
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 43m
Mrs. Jackson said she had not heard about Dr. Murray prior to MJ's death. Her son did not discuss what treatments he was having with her.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 43m
Mrs. Jackson said she can't recall exactly what was said in the Dateline interview, but she does remember saying MJ hired the doctor.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
"I don't think he could've prevented his own death," Mrs. Jackson testified. "I just said I thought he hired the doctor. I do recall that."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
Putnam: Do you recall why you said your son hired the doctor and that your son could've prevented his own death?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 45m
Mrs Jackson said that's all that's been talked about in the trial and that she remembers emails, Phillips' interview saying AEG hired Murray
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 46m
"I didn't say I didn't remember anything, I said I'm 83, I would 't remember everything," Mrs. Jackson responded.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 46m
Putnam asked how she remembers it when she said her memory wasn't very good.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 46m
Mrs. Jackson: I had heard they had hired and there was the doctor there so I thought MJ had hired him, not knowing the facts.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 47m
She said from hearing the emails, AEG said they had hired him and that Randy Phillips went on TV saying they hired him.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 47m
Mrs. Jackson said she doesn't believe that MJ hired Dr. Murray because of what she's been listening here in court.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 47m
"He didn't say stacks, he measure with his fingers," Mrs. Jackson explained.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 48m
Putnam asked if she heard testimony from Prince saying he would give Dr. Murray stacks of money in a rubber band.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 48m
Putnam asked if MJ ever paid Dr. Murray. She answered it was to treat the children.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 48m
Putnam: You heard testimony MJ hired Dr. Murray in Las Vegas?
Mrs Jackson: He had doctors for his children, I don't know if it was Dr Murray
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 49m
Putnam: Do you believe your son hired Dr. Murray?
Mrs. Jackson: No I don't
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 49m
"Conrad Murray, even if he asked, he could've said no," Mrs. Jackson opined.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 50m
Mrs. Jackson said she had not heard that MJ asked other doctors for Propofol. Putnam asked if that came to a surprise for her. She said yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 50m
Putnam: Did you hear from the criminal trial that your son asked Dr. Murray to give him Propofol?
Mrs. Jackson: I have heard
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 51m
Putnam: Do you remember MJ asking for Propofol?
Panish: Calls for hearsay response
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 51m
Putnam: Do you believe your son MJ knew Dr. Murray was giving him Propofol?
Panish: Objection, calls for speculation
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 51m
Putnam: You never believed your son had any part in his own death?
Mrs. Jackson: Correct!
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 52m
Putnam: Do you believe that your son is in any way responsible for his passing?
Mrs. Jackson: No I don't
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 52m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson has been here most of the days over the past 12 weeks.

 

[ivy]

Jackson’s Mother, Defiant and at Times Forgetful, Wraps Up Her Testimony
By BEN SISARIO
Published: July 22, 2013
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LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson’s mother continued her testimony on Monday in the wrongful death lawsuit she brought against the promoter of Jackson’s planned comeback concerts, appearing emotional and at times confused and exhausted, but saying that she was determined to find out the truth about how her son died four years ago.

“I wanted to find out what really happened to my son,” said Katherine Jackson, 83.

In her suit, Mrs. Jackson says that the promoter, AEG Live, is liable for Jackson’s death because it failed to properly monitor Dr. Conrad Murray, his personal physician for the shows. She is seeking damages equivalent to what her son could have earned had he lived, a sum that one witness estimated at more than $1.5 billion.

AEG counters that Jackson hired the doctor and kept secret his use of propofol, the powerful anesthetic that killed him. Dr. Murray is serving a four-year sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Witnesses in the trial so far, called by Mrs. Jackson’s lawyers, have included Jackson’s creative partners, his 16-year-old son Prince, and AEG executives, whose flurry of e-mails about Jackson’s condition in the days before his death have been repeatedly parsed in court.

Mrs. Jackson said it had been difficult for her to hear what she called falsehoods about her son. She said it was also hurtful to see e-mails from AEG executives mocking Jackson, including one in which he was called “the freak.”

But she struggled to add much information to the case. When Marvin S. Putnam, AEG’s lawyer, asked detailed questions about whether she knew about her son’s drug use, Mrs. Jackson said numerous times that she could not remember events or meetings, and some of her answers seemed to contradict statements she had made in earlier depositions.

Mrs. Jackson also frequently complained about the questioning by the defense, saying “I already answered that question” several times and, when asked about gifts she received from Jackson, countered, “What does this have to do with the death of my son?”

At one point on Friday, when she began her testimony, she stopped answering questions and instead stared straight ahead. The judge ended Friday’s session early, and Mrs. Jackson’s lawyer, Brian J. Panish, told reporters afterward that “she was getting confused and tired.”

Mrs. Jackson, the soft-voiced matriarch of the Jackson family, has been a near-constant presence during the 12-week civil trial, sitting in the front row of the small courtroom most days and waving to the gaggle of Jackson superfans who wait outside the court in T-shirts with slogans like, “We support you #team Katherine Jackson.”

On Monday, she testified that she was financially dependent on her son while he was alive.

“My son took care of me,” she said. “He paid for everything: food, shelter, clothing.”

Jackson was more than $400 million in debt when he died, but his estate has reportedly earned more than $600 million through various music and licensing deals, and Jackson’s mother and three children are the main beneficiaries. (The children are also plaintiffs in the AEG suit.)

Mrs. Jackson’s testimony ended on Monday afternoon, and AEG was expected to begin calling its witnesses this week to make its case.

On her way out of the courtroom, Mrs. Jackson was greeted by about a dozen fans, who cheered that they loved her.

“Thank you for being so strong today,” one said.

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 53- July 22 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Katherine Jackson testifies she didn't believe her son had drug issues
Monday, July 22, 2013

TAGS:legal, celebrity, court case, entertainment, miriam hernandez
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Miriam Hernandez
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LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, returned Monday for another emotional day on the witness stand in her wrongful death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live.

The Jackson matriarch described learning about her son's death and testified he was her primary source of financial support. She said she shut out what she termed "the bad news" about her son. She said she heard for years that her son was broke. But she testified he wasn't.

She said Michael Jackson provided for all her needs, gave her cash gifts and kept no record of the amount. She told jurors that though she was entitled to $100 million in restitution from Conrad Murray, the doctor who caused her son's death, she declined to pursue it.

AEG defense attorney Marvin Putnam asked her why she didn't pursue it.

Her response: "He has quite a few children. I thought his children needed it."

Katherine Jackson said she didn't believe her son had a problem with drugs. When he announced in 1993 that he was going into rehab, Mrs. Jackson recalled that her son's friend, Elizabeth Taylor, had said something about drugs, but Mrs. Jackson said she didn't watch television.

She recalled going to Neverland Ranch for an attempted intervention at the request of some of her children. When they got there, she stated, there was nothing wrong with him.

The defense played a clip from her earlier deposition where she had recalled more details. The defense elicited that the 83-year-old mother never disclosed any information about her son's history with pain killers with AEG or with her son's managers.

Related Content
STORY: Michael Jackson's mother begins testimony
STORY: Jackson trial: Accountant under fire by AEG
STORY: Jackson trial: Testimony focuses on finances
STORY: Jackson trial: Ortega breaks down in testimony
STORY: Jackson trial: Ortega was concerned about tour
Mrs. Jackson accuses AEG tour promoters of hiring and failing to supervise Murray. Executives at AEG say they were unaware of Jackson's dependency.
Katherine Jackson's attorneys rebutted, saying questions about Mrs. Jackson's recollections were not relevant. They said it's about who hired the doctor. Jackson attorney Brian Panish asked Mrs. Jackson: "Who would know about that? You or the CEO of AEG?

Her response: AEG.

 

[ivy]

Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 1m
Meglen will be back on the stand tomorrow. I’ll address his testimony regarding the “This Is It” tour then.
Have a good night everyone.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 1m
AEG exec John Meglen took the stand. His testimony focused on his experience, brief interaction with MJ before the “This Is It” tour.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
With that, Katherine Jackson’s testimony ended. Panish and a bailiff helped her down from the witness box and she left for the day.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Panish came back up one more time and asked whether Katherine Jackson expected the CEO of AEG Live to know who hired Murray.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Katherine Jackson said she was wrong in her interview, that she assumed her son had hired Conrad Murray.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Putnam said based on the clips showed in the Dateline interview and Phillips’ Sky News interview, someone was wrong about who hired Murray.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Mrs. Jackson said she could have asked them, but didn’t bring it up with them. She also said she didn’t discuss it with Kai Chase.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Putnam asked about why Katherine Jackson didn’t bring up what happened in the Carrolwood house with her grandchildren.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Phillips said in the interview that that Dr. Murray was hired by AEG at the request of Michael Jackson.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Panish played the clip of Randy Phillips in which he was interviewed by Sky News a few days after Michael Jackson’s death.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Panish took over again and asked Mrs. Jackson whether she received condolence cards from strangers. She said she got 1000s of them.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
She said she was told that if it was held at the Staples Center, the family wouldn't have to pay for it.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
Putnam asked about the Staples Center memorial service. Mrs. Jackson said she wanted to hold it at the LA Coliseum, which is much bigger.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
“No, but that shouldn’t have stopped him from saying, ‘I’m sorry for what happened to your son,’” she said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
He then asked Mrs. Jackson if she had ever met Paul Gongaware. She said she hadn't.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
Putnam then took over questioning again. He showed the clip from the Dateline show that was discussed before lunch.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
Mrs. Jackson was asked about the $100 million restitution figure. She said she didn't set the amount, but told the DA not to pursue it.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
Panish asked if she’d ever seen her son look like that. “Never,” Katherine Jackson replied. (She’d never seen the photo before the trial.)
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
Panish showed Mrs. Jackson the picture of her son taken on June 19th in which he looks extremely thin. She looked away at first.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
She said if the family had known, Joe Jackson would have stepped in. “They watched him waste away,” she said of AEG’s execs.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
After Panish asked about an email in which an AEG corporate lawyer called her son a freak, Mrs. Jackson was crying.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
“They could have called me,” Mrs. Jackson said. “He was asking me for his father. My grandson told me that his daddy was nervous and scared”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
“I learned it here in court,” Mrs. Jackson said of the emails, other details about her son’s health.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
In response several of Panish’s questions, she said she didn't know her son was losing weight or tour workers thought he was deteriorating.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 9m
... to express their condolences. They never sent a card.
Mrs. Jackson said Kenny Ortega did come to see her after her son’s death.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 9m
Panish asked about testimony that AEG Live execs Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware loved her son. She said they never called her ...
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 9m
He asked her about emails that had been displayed in court, ones Panish said she never would have seen if not for the lawsuit.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 9m
The lawyer asked who she hired to find out the truth about her son’s death.
Mrs. Jackson said she hired Panish’s firm.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
He also asked Katherine Jackson if she was a lawyer or a private investigator. The answers were no, obviously.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
Panish asked whether Mrs. Jackson used email or a computer. She said she was computer illiterate.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
Putnam ended his questioning, and Panish took over. He asked about Michael’s support. Mrs. Jackson said he was paying for her necessities.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
This money was coming in for several years before Michael Jackson’s death, but Mrs. Jackson said she eventually told her daughter to stop.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Putnam then asked about financial support Janet Jackson was providing her mom. She was giving $10k a month to support her mother.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Katherine Jackson said she never relayed any concerns about her son’s prescription drug use to anyone at AEG Live.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Putnam asked about the letter her son signed regarding Dileo. She said he told her he was only back in her son’s life for the tour.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
“They keep hiring all these people that Michael had fired. That’s what bothered me,” Katherine Jackson said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Katherine Jackson said she occasionally talked to Jackson’s managers, including Frank Dileo. She wasn’t thrilled when Dileo came back.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Katherine Jackson said she never discussed any concerns about her son's medication use with his lawyers or managers.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 12m
Putnam asked whether during her son’s criminal trial whether she ever thought her son was on medications. She said no.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 13m
In court, Katherine Jackson clarified. “I kind of believed him and I didn't believe him. I didn't know what to believe,” she said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 13m
Oprah asked Mrs. Jackson about her conversation with her son and asked if she believed his denials. She told Oprah she didn't believe him.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 13m
(cont) ... before she heard he was addicted to them. She also discussed an intervention attempt by her children.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 14m
In the clip, she said she was aware her son was taking prescription meds after his Pepsi commercial accident, but it was a long time (cont)
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 14m
Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson about a Nov. 2010 interview with Oprah Winfrey. After a few questions, Putnam played the clip.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 14m
Katherine Jackson said she didn't recall the doctor and didn't remember seeing the implant. She said she would have remembered seeing it.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Putnam asked Mrs. Jackson if she ever saw the implant or talked to the doctor who put it in her son. Mrs. Jackson said she didn’t remember.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
After the lunch break, Putnam asked about an implant that Michael Jackson apparently had to keep any addiction to Demerol in check.
Expand
Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Details from the remainder of Katherine Jackson's testimony coming up now.
Here's my story on her testimony: http://yhoo.it/1624kQp

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 53- July 22 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 1m
And that ended Day 53 of the trial. We hope to see you tomorrow for all the details of John Meglen's testimony. Have a great night everybody
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 2m
Plaintiffs want to bring Rwamba to testify before they rest their case. They still need to finish Ortega's testimony too.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 2m
Outside the presence of jury, Panish said Deborah Chang spoke with Grace Rwamba's lawyer and he doesn't' know where she is.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 3m
Meglen said the expense of the show production falls under the artist to pay. Judge adjourned until tomorrow at 9:45 am PT.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 3m
Meglen said almost immediately Gongaware took the lead on the MJ's This Is It project, since he had prior experience with MJ.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 4m
"He was very excited," Meglen said. "He was great, full of energy, seem taller, firm handshake, he was there, he was very, very excited."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 4m
Meglen said MJ asked Gongaware about Brigitte, his girlfriend at the time. They wanted MJ to choose them for a comeback tour.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 4m
MJ recognized Gongaware, Meglen said. He came out of the bedroom, "Whenever I see Paul Gongaware I know everything is going to be all right"
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 5m
The meeting was to let MJ know what AEG was about, Meglen said. Gongaware, Raymone Bain (MJ's manager), Lopez, MJ were present.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 5m
Meglen said he next met MJ in 2007 with Peter Lopez, MJ's attorney at the time at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 5m
Bina asked if Wikipedia was wrong in saying the shows were sold out. "I don't use Wikipedia as source for my business," Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 6m
They both sold half house, he said, which is half of the tickets available. Meglen said they hid he empty seats so it wouldn't show.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 6m
Meglen watched both shows and said it was great. Marcel Avram was the promoter.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 6m
Meglen worked with MJ prior to "This Is It" once. He was a consultant to a firm in Japan that promoted two MJ shows in 1986 around Christmas
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 7m
When they created Concerts West, Meglen said their first tour was Andrea Bocelli. They promoted first tour of Mariah Carey.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 7m
Meglen said he doesn't think being the number 1 is necessarily a good thing. He explained it is the difference between quality and quantity.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 8m
Bina talked about rivalry between AEG Live and Live Nation.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 8m
Meglen said he went to Veterinarian school initially. "I feel like I work with animals some times," he joked.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 8m
Paul Gongaware is co-CEO of Concerts West with Meglen. He described his extensive background in the business.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 8m
John Meglen is a concert promoter, works at AEG Live, he's the president and CEO of Concerts West.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 9m
AEG's attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina did direct examination.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 10m
AEG called their next witness, John Meglen.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 10m
Judge told jury we are now moving to defendants' case, even though plaintiffs have not yet rested their case in chief.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 11m
Mrs. Jackson: The CEO of AEG

Mrs. Jackson was then excused. She went home for the rest of the day to rest.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 11m
In re-re-re-direct, Panish asked: Who do you think it's in a better position to know who hired the doctor, you or the CEO of AEG?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 12m
Putnam said one of them was not right in their interview. Mrs. Jackson answered: "I'm not correct."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 12m
Mrs. Jackson: Like I said, I didn't know who hired him at that time.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 12m
In re-re-cross, Putnam inquired Phillips said 'we hired him' and Mrs. Jackson said 'Michael' hired him.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 13m
Mrs. Jackson: No, not at all. The children knew her, they wanted her, that's why.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 13m
Mrs. Jackson: Kai Chase has been working for me not quite a year yet

Panish: Did you hire Kai Chase so she would testify in your favor?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 14m
Panish: There was a suggestion in this trial you hired Kai Chase back so she can testify in your favor?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 14m
Panish showed video of Phillips saying they hired him.

Panish: Did Sister Rose discuss with you about AEG pressuring MJ?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 14m
Regarding the interview, Mrs. Jackson said she just assumed, she didn't know whether MJ had hired Dr. Murray.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 14m
She's a Jehovah's Witness and there's a difference between her religion and the Nation of Islam.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 15m
In re-re-direct, Panish asked: They still didn't send a card, did they?
Mrs. Jackson: No. Thousands and thousands of people sent her card.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 16m
Mrs. Jackson said AEG told her if she did the memorial service at the Staples Center it would be free (she wanted to do it at the Coliseum)
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 16m
Putnam asked if AEG put together a Memorial Service for MJ. She said yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 16m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson knows Gongaware. "No, but that shouldn't have stopped him, to say I'm sorry what happened to your son" she said
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 17m
Putnam: Did I say anything improper in the deposition regarding the Nation of Islam?
Mrs. Jackson: You were asking me question about it
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 17m
Mrs. Jackson doesn't know why Sister Rose is called sister and Brother Michael is brother.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 17m
"She told me that MJ was very weak, and she told me that she talked about what went down at the practice, they had to hold him up" she said
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 19m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson spoke with Sister Rose, the kids' nanny.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 19m
"I could, but I didn't want to bring that up with them," Mrs. Jackson answered.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 20m
Putnam asked if Mrs. Jackson talked to her grandchildren about Dr. Murray in search of the truth.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 20m
In re-cross, Putnam showed a video where Mrs. Jackson said "It could've been prevented, he hired a doctor to take care of him."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 21m
Panish asked if the figure for restitution was set by the state. Mrs. Jackson said yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 21m
Panish: Issue of restitution was the state decision and you told them not to do it, correct?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 21m
Panish showed picture of MJ in June 09 and asked if she ever saw her son like that. "Never," said Mrs. Jackson crying, wiping her eyes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 22m
"They watched him waste away and waited, I know they did it," Mrs. Jackson said, crying.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 22m
Mrs. Jackson: They were there, without calling somebody. My husband and I would have been there in a second (crying)
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 22m
Panish: Did AEG ever tell you they called your son a freak?
Mrs. Jackson: No
P: And that it was creepy meeting your son?
Mrs. J: No (crying)
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 23m
"The could've called me, he was asking for his father, he was scared, he was asking for Joseph," Mrs. Jackson said, crying.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 23m
Mrs. Jackson said she learned about MJ's condition in court, that AEG never told her MJ was deteriorating, paranoia, losing weight, rambling
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 24m
Panish asked if she knew Hougdahl wrote an email to AEG that MJ was deteriorating in front of his eyes?
Mrs. Jackson: No
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 24m
Panish: Did you know your son was sleep-deprived for 60 days?
Mrs. Jackson: No, I didn't
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 24m
Phillips and Gongaware never called/send card to Mrs. Jackson after MJ died, Mrs Jackson said. Kenny Ortega went to see her, she said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 25m
"Why," Panish asked. "I wanted to find out what really happened to my son," Mrs. Jackson responded.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 25m
Panish asked what she did to go about this case. "I hired your firm," Mrs. Jackson said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 26m
Mrs Jackson said she doesn't know anything about computers, it's not a lawyer or investigator. Her highest level of education is high school
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Panish: Farrakhan and Nation of Islam, does that have anything to do with your son's death?
Mrs. Jackson: No
P: Were you upset?
Mrs. J: Yes
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Panish inquired if Putnam asked during deposition personal question?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes, he asked 'did your husband beat you'?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Panish: Did you rely on him (MJ) for all necessities of life?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
In re-direct, Panish asked if before MJ died, was he paying for everything?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes, paying for everything
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Mrs. Jackson said she told Janet she didn't have to continue to send her money after MJ died.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Mrs. Jackson said she was receiving that amount when MJ died. The money went to her assistant Janice at the office.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
At first, it was not on a monthly basis, but it became that way, Mrs. Jackson explained. Janet sent her $10,000 a month.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Mrs. Jackson testified she was receiving money from MJ and also from Janet Jackson.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Mrs. Jackson said she never told AEG Live or Randy Phillips about MJ having drug problem.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
Putnam: Did you tell Mr. DiLeo you were concerned that your son was abusing painkillers?
Mrs. Jackson: No, since he had just come back
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
Mrs. Jackson: Michael and DiLeo told me he was back for the This Is It tour.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
Putnam asked if it was someone other than MJ who hired DiLeo. "I think so, Michael didn't want him back," she said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Mrs. Jackson wanted to know why people kept re-hiring people Michael had fired.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
She remembers answering the phone when Frank DiLeo went back to work for Michael.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Mrs. Jackson said she had many conversations with Frank DiLeo and they were all friendly.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Mrs. Jackson said she never discussed with her son's attorneys or managers about her concerns.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Putnam: Was there any time during the criminal trial that you were concerned MJ was under the influence of something?
Mrs. Jackson: No
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Putnam: Was there a time you were concerned with MJ using painkillers?
Mrs. Jackson: I can't say I weren't concerned
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
"I didn't know what to believe," she said. "I went to Neverland because my children kept asking me and I was concerned."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
Putnam: Do you think your son was abusing painkillers?
Mrs. Jackson: I don't know
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
"I didn't know what to believe," Mrs. Jackson said.

Mrs. Jackson conceded she denied this morning that her son was abusing drugs.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
Mrs. Jackson: I kind of believe it and didn't believe it, hearing from my children, hearing from other people.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 34m
Mrs. Jackson told Oprah she didn't want to hear MJ had overdosed. MJ kept saying he wasn't on it, and that his own mother didn't believe him
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 35m
She also said about the family's attempted intervention: the children told her to take MJ to rehab and kind of clean him up.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 39m
In Oprah's interview, Mrs. Jackson said it was a long time before she knew MJ was addicted to painkillers.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 40m
Mrs. Jackson: I told you MJ was on painkillers, but I don't think he was abusing it.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 40m
Putnam: You said you believed your son was addicted to drugs?
Mrs. Jackson: I told Oprah that
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 41m
Putnam: Did you try to tell the truth in that interview?
Mrs. Jackson: Yes
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 41m
Oprah's interview aired about a month after the the lawsuit was filed. She watched it when it aired at the Hayvenhurst house.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 41m
Putnam asked if she recalls sitting down for interview with Oprah Winfrey in the fall of 2010. Mrs. Jackson said yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 42m
Putnam asked if Mrs Jackson knows there were a number of doctors who testified in this case. She said she didn't know, didn't see deposition
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 43m
Mrs. Jackson said she does not remember MJ showing her a Narcan patch.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 43m
As to Louis Farrakhan -- she met him, but doesn't remember seeing him at Neverland.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 43m
Mrs. Jackson said she doesn't remember discussing the implant in 2002.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
Putnam: Do you remember testimony about MJ having an implant to treat Demerol?
Mrs. Jackson: I don't know anything about that
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
"I don't remember who Dr. Farshchian is and I don't remember treating Michael for Demerol," Mrs. Jackson said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
Putnam asked if Dr. Farshchian testified he spoke with her because she wanted to know all the details of her son's Demerol use.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 45m
Putnam showed Mrs. Jackson transcript of Dr. Farshchian's deposition and asked if that refreshed her recollection. She said it doesn't.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 45m
Mrs. Jackson said he doesn't recall Dr. Farshchian and does not recall any phone call with any doctor about MJ's addiction to Demerol.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 46m
Putnam asked about the attempted intervention in 2002. He asked about Dr. Farshchian treating MJ's addiction to Demerol.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 47m
Mrs. Jackson wore black and white print long jacket with fuchsia flowers, with cranberry top and skirt.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 48m
Mrs. Jackson: I don't like hearing bad news.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 48m
Putnam asked about whether she shut her ears to bad things. "I may have said that but I don't remember," Mrs. Jackson responded.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 49m
MJ's mother said she never heard before tour had been canceled because of MJ's rehab. She said it doesn't mean it wasn't but she didn't know
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 50m
Mrs. Jackson said she did not discuss with MJ about it and had never heard MJ's 1993 announcement he was going into rehab.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 50m
Mrs. Jackson: My children probably didn't want me to know about it.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 51m
Mrs. Jackson: I had heard that, that Elizabeth Taylor had something to do about drugs but I don't watch television that much.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 51m
Putnam: Were you aware your son MJ had gone to rehab before?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 52m
Putnam showed Mrs. Jackson Randy's deposition saying MJ asked her to sign the letter. She said it doesn't refresh her recollection about it.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 52m
Mrs. Jackson said she doesn't' remember MJ being involved in the draft of the letter. She doesn't know who asked her to sign it.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 53m
Putnam: Isn't it true your son MJ asked you to sign this?
Mrs. Jackson: I don't remember my son asking me to sign this
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 56m
Mrs. Jackson: As far as the tabloids, I didn't waste my time because I know all they do is to try to make money
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[ivy]

Jacksons vs AEG - Day 54- July 23 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Jacksons vs AEG - Day 54- July 23 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Use this thread to post any and all news stories from day 54 of Katherine Jackson vs. AEG trial.

Daily news threads are merged into the main News thread in the stickies

Please help the staff by posting all the news stories as well as tweets from media you see.

Please Don't post updates or tweets from Fans in news thread

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 54- July 23 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

AEG Live defense begins effort to show Michael Jackson had drug addiction
By Alan Duke, CNN
updated 1:04 PM EDT, Tue July 23, 2013
Watch this video
Jackson wrongful death case
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
AEG Live will question "all of the many, many doctors" who treated Jackson, lawyer says
AEG lawyer: The Jacksons want "to blame somebody else for things that only they knew"
The lawyer "badgered" Michael Jackson's mom during cross-examination, her attorney says
AEG's lawyer won't comment on questioning Katherine Jackson about beatings by husband

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson "had a real monkey on his back" with a longtime drug addiction his family kept secret from the world, and it led to his overdose death, a lawyer for AEG Live said.
The concert promoter's defense against the Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit begins Tuesday and will include testimony from "all of the many, many doctors" who treated Jackson over the past decades, AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam said.
It will also include a parade of Jackson family members, including a return appearance by matriarch Katherine Jackson, who just concluded two days of testimony as her lawyers presented their case.
"They kept his private world private as best they could and now they would like to blame somebody else for things that only they knew privately," Putnam said.
Who\'s who in Jackson trial Who's who in Jackson trial
Michael Jackson's mother and three children contend AEG Live, which was producing and promoting his comeback concerts, is liable in his death because it negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray.
Jackson's mom faces cross examination in death trial
Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death, which the coroner ruled was caused by an overdose of the surgical anesthetic propofol. The doctor told investigators he was using the drug to treat Jackson's insomnia as he prepared for his "This Is It" debut in London.
Jackson, not AEG Live, chose and controlled Murray, Putnam argued. He said in his opening statements at the start of the trial 12 weeks ago he would show jurors "ugly stuff" about Jackson to prove that AEG Live executives had no way of knowing about the dangerous treatments the doctor was giving in the privacy of Jackson's bedroom.
The appearance of Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's 83-year-old mother, as a concluding witness in her case gave Putnam a chance to probe what family members knew about Jackson's drug abuse history.
"There are a lot of enormous inconsistencies in what is being said and what the truth is," Putnam told reporters Monday after he finished his cross-examination of Katherine Jackson.
She "reported to the world and to the press that he never had a problem with prescription drugs," that he never entered drug rehab and that the family never attempted an intervention to stop his drug use, he said. "As we now know, Michael Jackson had a longtime problem with prescription drugs, so what had been told to the world during his lifetime wasn't true."
The Jackson family's lawyer, Brian Panish, said AEG Live executives were "in the best position to help Michael Jackson" when they saw his health deteriorating in the last two months of his life.
Show director Kenny Ortega sent a series of e-mails to top AEG Live executives warning them that Jackson showed "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" at a rehearsal.
"I think the very best thing we can do is get a top psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP," Ortega wrote. "It's like there are two people there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not waiting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state."
Production manager John "Bugzee" Houghdahl sent an e-mail to producers saying he "watched him deteriorate in front of my eyes over the last 8 weeks. He was able to do multiple 360 spins back in April. He'd fall on his ass if he tried now."
"They knew he was having a problem," Panish said. "He needed them for this concert. They could have easily told him, 'Look, until you go see the appropriate doctor and come back, we're not going on with the rehearsal.' They're the only ones that really had the ability to do something about it and they chose not to."
Ortega testified this month that he thought AEG Live should have halted production on the show until Jackson was well.
Mother: 'I want to know what really happened'
Despite the e-mail evidence and testimony, Putnam insisted Monday that AEG Live executives knew nothing about Jackson's failing health.
"They had little interaction with Michael Jackson in terms of the production and promotion of that," Putnam said, adding that the executives "certainly" did not know "that he was having any problems."
But Panish said the executives should have known: "He was deteriorating in front of their own eyes."
"They watched him waste away," Katherine Jackson testified.
Jackson testified in her first day on the stand Friday that she filed the lawsuit "because I want to know what really happened to my son."
During cross-examination, the AEG Live lawyer played a clip from an interview she gave to NBC a year after her son's death in which she said Michael Jackson had hired the doctor. In response, her lawyer argued she made the statement before seeing AEG e-mails indicating that the company hired him.
Putnam questioned her about a statement she and several of her children signed in 2007 accusing People Magazine of publishing "untrue and inaccurate information" about Michael Jackson's drug use.
"We categorically deny ever planning, participating in, or having knowledge of any kind of intervention, whatsoever," the statement read.
Katherine Jackson acknowledged, however, that she participated in an attempted intervention with her son at his Neverland Ranch in 2002.
"I wanted them to stop lying," she testified, referring to the magazine. "I was worried about all the lies they were telling about the family."
"Was it a lie to say your son had a problem with prescription drugs?" Putnam asked.
"He did not have a problem," she insisted.
Putnam later asked Jackson's mother if she liked to "shut your ears to bad things."
"I don't like to hear bad news," she said.
Jackson appeared combative at times when Putnam cross-examined her, punching back at his questions.
"What does this have to do with my son dying?" she replied at one point.
"I think she was badgered, but that wasn't the first time," Panish told reporters later. "In her deposition, she was asked questions like, "Does your husband ever beat you?'"
Doctor: Promoter knew about Jackson's drug dependency
For the pretrial deposition, she was questioned for about 12 hours over three days.
Putnam denied he was being overly aggressive in his questioning of her.
"I just wanted to know the facts from her and there was no reason to be aggressive with her," he said. "She was combative, but you can't blame Mrs. Jackson for that. None of us want to find ourselves in a situation where we're having to confront the very public death of our child."
Putnam refused to discuss why he asked Katherine Jackson in the deposition if her husband, Joe Jackson, ever beat her.
"What occurred in those depositions was confidential at Mrs. Jackson's request, therefore I am not at liberty to go into to the private matters that we went into in that deposition," Putnam told CNN. However, Katherine Jackson and her lawyer both brought up the question in court Monday.
"I am not going to go into what we went into about the very tragic history Michael Jackson had with his parents and father over the period of his life," Putnam said. "That is something we did not go into on the stand because it is not relevant. I'm not bringing that up."
AEG Live executive John Meglen is on the witness stand Tuesday as the company's defense presentation begins. Testimony is expected to last into September, the judge told the jury.

 

[ivy]

Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 56m
Gotta get back into court. A few more updates coming at the break.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 56m
AEG Live’s attorneys want Meglen’s testimony to demonstrate that calculations by plaintiff’s damages expert Arthur Erk are off.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 56m
Meglen said he never met Conrad Murray or reviewed the doctor’s draft contract.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 57m
He said he attended one rehearsal and didn’t meet with Michael Jackson often. He was in an initial project discussion meeting in early 2007.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 57m
Meglen wasn’t working on the tour day-to-day. He was handling other AEG Live shows while other execs were working on the “This Is It” shows.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 57m
Meglen worked somewhat on the “This Is It” tour early on, looking at budgets and projections and doing some initial planning.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 58m
AEG Live executive John Meglen is back on the stand. He’s been testifying a lot about his experience in the concert promotion business.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 58m
There’s a noticeably smaller group in the courtroom. Less attorneys for the plaintiff’s are here, less media too.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 58m
We’re back in session in Jackson vs. AEG Live case. Katherine Jackson is not present today. A few updates coming while court is in a sidebar

 

[ivy]

Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 14m
North America was not an option, Meglen said, due to Jackson’s reputation here and controversies he'd had here.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
He said ultimately the economics of having Jackson do his shows in Asia didn’t work out. They couldn’t get a high enough ticket price there.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Meglen said Japan is still the stronger concert market. “You can generate a lot more revenue in Japan than in China,” he said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
He said AEG considered putting Jackson’s shows in Asia, possibly Shanghai or Tokyo. He noted Asia was a historically strong market for MJ.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Meglen said London was the venue AEG Live considered most because it’s considered “the biggest concert market in the world.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Defense attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina is doing the questioning of Meglen. She asked him this morning about initial plans for “TII” shows.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 16m
A few more updates coming from the morning session in Jackson vs. AEG Live.

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 54- July 23 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 26m
Afternoon session is set to resume within 40 minutes. For all the latest, watch @ABC7 and visit http://www.abc7.com
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Panish said the attorneys should not have any contact with the jurors whatsoever. Bina said it was not her intention, apologized.
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He said the proper procedure is to hand the documents to the clerk or bailiff and let them handle them to the jury.
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Outside the jury presence, Panish complained to the judge that AEG's attorney Jessica Bina handed over copies of exhibits to the jury.
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Bina shows another exhibit. There's dispute as to which exhibit has been admitted already or not. Judge sent jury to lunch.
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"You're lucky if you can hit 60 (thousand)," Meglen said.
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The Rose Bowl is one of the biggest stadiums in the country and there is the idea that it fits 100k people, Meglen explained.
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Rolling Stones had 59,000 people, the maximum capacity they could have at The Rose Bowl, Meglen said.
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It's also much more expensive to do a stadium show, Meglen explained.
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Meglen said you can't put an arena show into a stadium, specially because of the size of the stage and the production.
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People buy the suites on an annual basis and it includes concerts. The building gets the money, not the promoter or artist.
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All stadiums and arenas have suites and the promoters and artists don't get to charge them, Meglen said.
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The projections the Jacksons expert produced is more than that, Meglen said. He estimated they would sell 220 degrees in MJ's shows.
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Meglen explained the stadiums normally don't allow sale of full capacity. The stage is big, when you sell all around is called 360 degrees.
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Jacksons attorney objected saying Meglen has no experience in India. Judge sustained.
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Meglen said he probably has never proposed an India concert. "Nobody goes to India," Meglen said.
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He said tribute shows don't do well when the artist is alive, since people want to see the actual performer.
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While Michael Jackson was alive, Meglen said the ideal would be to have the artist live as a residency show. But that wasn't an option.
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Meglen said there was a guarantee of $60 million over 10 years. "The Estate told us they were not interested," Meglen said.
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Meglen said they were very interested in a MJ Las Vegas show. He said he made an offer as attractive of better than Cirque's proposal.
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Meglen: You run 10 years (in a residency show) and you hit a home run.
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The promoter said he got one meeting with the executor of MJ's Estate, John Branca, but they were already involved with Cirque du Soleil.
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Meglen said he became aware the Estate of MJ was in talks with Cirque du Soleil for a show in Vegas, which gave AEG a sense of urgency.
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Meglen said they wanted to take this to another level, creating an entire campus as opposed to just a show and a boutique.
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Bina showed a document with an a structural outline with the concept of the Las Vegas show, possible partners and numbers.
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This was after Michael Jackson passed away. Meglen said this was never proposed before he died.
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Meglen: It'd involve artifacts in MJ exhibit, items from Neverland, 2 restaurants, nightclub and a theatrical show directed by Kenny Ortega.
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Meglen: We proposed to the Estate a Michael Jackson Campus at the Planet Hollywood Hotel
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Meglen said he has put together a show idea for Las Vegas involving Michael Jackson, but not a residential show.
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An arena is an ambitious step to take the model of a Las Vegas show. Arena fits 50k-60k people, Meglen said.
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Meglen said the average ticket price for a headliner show in Las Vegas currently is $100-$125.
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He said the promoter would be able to survive with only 2 and 1/2 shows per week, but not the artist.
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A residency show needs more than 2 and 1/2 shows per week to be able to pay expenses and make money, Meglen explained.
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He said the hotels want customers every night, so resident shows need to have a constant schedule and few days off.
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The promoter said the hotels in Las Vegas would not allow an artist to have a residency show with only 2 and 1/2 shows per week.
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Meglen said he had one show in Las Vegas that didn't sell tremendously well and they had to shut down production early. No names mentioned.
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Celine Dion, Meglen said, not only uses Teleprompter but has an ear piece with director speaking to her.
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The rehearsal is more for the people around the artist, Meglen said. He said it is very common for artists to use TelePrompTers.
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Meglen said Celine Dion's director was freaking out because she was not showing up for rehearsals.
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Meglen said he had never seen an AEG contract where the artist is required to rehearse.
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He said you're dealing with singers, sometimes you have a lot of dancers on shows, so doctors, physical therapists, chefs, not uncommon.
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Bina: Is it worrisome to have a doctor come on tour?
Meglen responded no, not at all.
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Meglen said he has been involved in tours where a doctor was part of the production. He named Rolling Stones, Celine Dion, John Denver.
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Meglen wasn't involved in the production of TII. He has never met Dr. Murray and has not seen any draft agreement between AEG and the doctor
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This is the type of deal for Led Zeppelin, Elvis Presley, Neal Diamond, Meglen testified.
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"They are worried about what their shares are as opposed to guarantee," Meglen explained.
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The superstar deals: the selling of tickets is kind of a given, Meglen said. So they get out of guarantee and get profit participation.
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The promoter said AEG advanced the money for "This Is It" tour.
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Meglen said Paul Gongaware called Michael Jackson 'Mikey' because they knew each other.
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Meglen would have to approve a worldwide budget, he said. And it all depended on the London shows success and their review.
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It was a long way to the completion of the London shows, so Meglen said there was no urgency in figuring out where to go after that.
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He explained that the only one that went thru the approval process was the London shows.
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Meglen: The London shows were the only approved shows from our standpoint at AEG
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Meglen said he was aware of talks about a worldwide tour with MJ.
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Meglen said he was not intimately involved in the budget tour and budget production, but has seen them and knows what a budget is.
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The show net is where you determine the artist gross from, Meglen explained.
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"You can't compare net of artists because they all spend differently on the road," Meglen said.
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The promoter said normally they talk about show net, what we call artist gross, is when discussing money.
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Meglen said MJ had sold stadium shows in London before, had a successful track record there.
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He said there are a lot of rich people in China, but a lot people with not as much money.
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However, Meglen said the economics wasn't there for Asia, couldn't get a high enough ticket price in China.
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Meglen said the other option was Asia, Japan especially. He has done a number of other tours in Asia.
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Meglen: We weren't sure what the reaction, ticket sale would be in N America because of the historic stuff Michael had gone before in the US
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"We did not want to start the tour in North America," Meglen said.
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He said the strength of artist's popularity is based on ticket sales, ticket sales of similar artists, record sales, radio time playing.
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The promoter said they considered London, the biggest market in the world, since it has a new, hot arena.
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Then they met again in ealry 2008 and began discussions of what to do and where to go with MJ's comeback tour.
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Meglen didn't have involvement in Michael Jackson's contract. He said after the initial meeting, there was a quiet period.
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Katherine Jackson is not present in court today. John Meglen, co-CEo of Concerts West, is back on the stand. Jessica Bina questioning him.
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Hello from the courthouse in downtown LA. Day 54, Week 13 of Jackson family vs AEG trial is under way.

 

[ivy]

Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 1m
Sounds like Meglen may finish testifying tomorrow.
I’ll be back in court tomorrow. Have a good night everyone.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 1m
Jury will return at 10 a.m. PDT tomorrow. Attorneys will come in a bit earlier to argue any issues they have.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 1m
Panish had a few more questions for Meglen before court adjourned for the day. The lawyer says he has another hour of questions or so.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 1m
Meglen said Anshutz told him, “'I think it’s going fine. We have not presented our case yet.’” Meglen said they didn’t discuss it further.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
He said he did ask Philip Anshutz how he thought the case was going when they saw each other recently.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Meglen said the executives had discussed the case, but they were told not to discuss their respective testimony.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 2m
Panish asked whether Meglen had ever discussed trial testimony with Phillips or Gongaware. He said no.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Meglen said Phillips and Gongaware would know, but said he knew the company didn’t hire doctors.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Panish asked who would be in a better position to know AEG’s actions on Jackson’s shows, Meglen or Randy Phillips.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Meglen: “We do not hire doctors. We could advance on behalf of an artist.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Dion’s company would be paid a certain amount to operate her show each week, Meglen said, and her doc would be paid from that.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
Meglen said Dion’s doctor was listed in an early budget for her shows, but he was only listed as someone paid out of her expense stipend.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
Panish asked whether AEG Live directly paid the doctors for the Stones and Dion. Meglen said not, the artists paid them.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
He said outside of Jackson’s tour, a discussion of an artist’s doctor had probably never happened in the executives’’ meetings.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
The executive said it’s uncommon that any artist’s doctor are discussed in the AEG Live executive meetings.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
Meglen said Gongaware told the group that Jackson told him to offer Murray $150k a month, and the doctor accepted that.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
... how many meetings that included a discussion of Murray’s fee, or if he commented on it. He said it may have come up in just one meeting.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
Meglen said Gongaware reported the doctor’s request. After several questions about who was there, Meglen said he didn’t remember (cont)
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
He said the company doesn’t hire doctors. He said the issue of Murray asking for $5 million came up in a meeting of AEG Live executives.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
The executive re-iterated he wasn’t familiar with Murray’s contract, and hadn’t read Michael Jackson’s contract in detail.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Meglen said it’s usually the producer’s responsibility to negotiate with doctors, physical therapists, but terms are set by the artist.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Panish asked about the Rolling Stones’ doctor. He gave the same answers -- that AEG didn’t hired or negotiate with the Stones’ doctor.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Meglen said Dion’s company pays her doctor. He said AEG didn’t negotiate the deal and can’t tell the doctor what’s expected of him.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Panish then starting asking questions about other artists who have doctors who work on tours. He asked if AEG pays Celine Dion’s doctor.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Meglen said he wasn’t copied on the email and could only speculate on what Gongaware meant.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
Gongaware email: “We want to remind him that it is AEG, not MJ who is paying his salary. We want him to understand what is expected of him.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
Panish asked Meglen several questions about a June 2009 email that Paul Gongaware sent regarding Conrad Murray.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
Meglen said he’d probably been called creepy, and said it might have been said about Panish.
“No one would say it to my face,” he replied.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
After several more questions, Meglen said it wouldn’t be appropriate to call an artist a freak. He said calling someone creepy was different
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 9m
Meglen said it depended on the situation and it wouldn’t be appropriate to do it in public. He said it wasn't a simple yes or no answer.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 9m
Panish asked if it was appropriate to call an artist a “freak” or a meeting with an artist “creepy” as AEG corporate lawyers did in emails.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
“I think we’re animals by doing that,” Meglen said.
Panish asked whether the exec respected artists.
“Very much,” he replied.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
Meglen said he wasn’t referring to artists, he was referring to the people who prep and tear down shows and are on the road all the time.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
Panish moved on after a few questions and then asked about a comment Meglen made yesterday that he works with “animals.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 10m
When prodded, Meglen said $1 million a year seemed like a lot to him. He added he wasn’t paid that amount.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
The lawyer asked if Meglen was paid a lot. The executive said he didn't know how to answer that question.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Judge sustained the objection and Panish asked it a different way.
Meglen said he was paid “sufficiently.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Panish said Meglen’s salary was relevant because it went to bias. Stebbins Bina said it was an invasion of privacy.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Panish then asked Meglen about his contract and how much he got paid. Stebbins Bina objected, saying it was irrelevant to the trial.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 11m
Meglen had been working on the Stones’ recent tour, started trial testimony preparation when he got back last week.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 12m
Panish asked Meglen how much time he spent preparing to testify. The exec said portions of five days.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 12m
The executive said one of the only shows AEG Live has ever produced that had more than 60k concertgoers was at Ohio State University.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 13m
Meglen said that’s what Billboard reported, but he said he hung out before that show and was told by the band’s rep that it hadn’t sold out.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 13m
Panish showed Meglen a Billboard magazine story that reported U2 packed in 97,000 people for a concert there.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 13m
Panish then attacked AEG’s slide on the Rose Bowl attendance figures. The slide said concert capacity was about 60,000 people.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 13m
Meglen had also told the jury that he wasn’t familiar with the promotion of Dion’s Asian or European tour dates.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 14m
“That’s what it says,” Meglen said of the printout. The executive told the jury he didn’t promote the Stade de France shows.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 14m
Panish showed Meglen a printout from Dion’s website, stating she sold 90k tickets each night for two shows in June 1999.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Meglen said he believed the stadium could host 60,000 to 70,000 concertgoers for a show. Panish cited figures for two Dion shows in 1999.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Panish asked about a Celine Dion show performed at the Stade de France outside of Paris. The listed max capacity is around 80k.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
“I’ve kind of learned to believe that they’re not totally accurate,” Meglen said of the figures.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Panish then asked Meglen about concert attendance figures cited in Billboard magazine. Meglen said he uses them, but just as an outline.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 15m
Meglen named the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin as bigger acts, explaining he’s “a rocker.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 16m
Panish asked Meglen to name bigger artists than Jackson. Meglen said Jackson was big in the pop world, but cited 2 rock acts as bigger.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 16m
The lawyer asked about Meglen’s characterization of Jackson’s “This Is It” ticket sales and whether he agreed with his boss’ opinion.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 16m
Panish started cross-examination by asking Meglen whether Gongaware and AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips were truthful. Meglen said yes.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 16m
Updates from the rest of proceedings in the Jackson vs AEG Live case coming up.

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 54- July 23 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 1h
We hope to see you here tomorrow. For all the latest watch @ABC7 and go to http://www.abc7.com . Have a good night everyone!
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 1h
Next AEG's witness is Eric Briggs, a retained expert in projections and evaluation in the entertainment business (to counter what Erk said).
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Judge adjourned session and jury is ordered back at 10 am PT tomorrow. Attorneys ordered at 9:30 am PT.
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"How would I know what MJ wanted to do?" Meglen said.
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He said he showed the company's movie sizzle reel to MJ because he wanted to show the quality of their work.
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Meglen said he would not go in a meeting about movies since he is not in the movie business.
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Panish asked about the meeting with MJ in 2007. "I'm very proud of the assets of AEG, but I don't think I was bragging about it."
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"I'm not a doctor. It's not for me to decide whether being slander is healthy or not healthy," Meglen explained.
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Panish showed the picture of MJ in June 2009.

Meglen: He looks skinny, he looks skinner than when I saw him. That's all.
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"I think it's going fine, we have not presented our case yet," Meglen said Anschutz responded.
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Panish asked if Meglen spoke with Mr. Anschutz about the trial. Meglen said he asked what he thought about the trial.
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"I know we don't hire doctors," Meglen said. He was not involved in a day-to-day details.
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"AEG does not pay doctors," Meglen said. "We do not hire doctors, we could advance on behalf of artists."
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Meglen said Dion's doctor was her responsibility to pay.
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Celine Dion's doctor was on the original operation budget by AEG for her show. He was listed to be paid out of the weekly operation expense
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Meglen: We did not produce the Rolling Stones show, we only promoted the Rolling Stones tour.
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Panish asked if it was $18 million. Meglen said there was advance/other securities, doesn't know if the Rolling Stones have to pay it back.
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Panish: AEG give money to the Rolling Stones?
Meglen: Yes
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Meglen said AEG did not negotiate the contract with the doctor for the Rolling Stones.
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Regarding the Rolling Stones, Meglen said the doctor worked for the band, which means worked for principals and band members.
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"AEG paid the per-show operating expense to CDA production who in turn paid the doctor," Meglen said about Celine Dion.
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Meglen said he does not know if Dion's doctor set her schedule up.
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"AEG did not have a contract with Celine's doctor," Meglen said. They did not negotiate the doctor's payment, could not fire the doctor.
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Only Rolling Stones and Celine Dion have had doctors on tour under AEG.
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Panish asked when was the last time the committee discussed an artist's doctor.

"That probably never happened," Meglen said.
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Panish: Is it common at the executive committee to talk about the artist's doctor?
Meglen: No, that's not common
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He said just because Murray agreed to money offer by MJ via Gongaware does not mean a deal was consummated.
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"We do not consider a deal done until there's an executed contract," Meglen said.
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"Our policy is we do not have a deal until we have a signed contract," Meglen explained.
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Panish: You never proposed a MJ show when he was alive?
Meglen: I asked if Michael was interested in doing a Celine-type show and he said no
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Meglen: I pay Celine Dion an amount of money, to which she pays the doctor out of that money.
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Panish: Isn't true Celine Dion's doctor is paid for out of show production budget?
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Gongaware was the one who brought it up. Meglen said it was kind of understood the amount was excessive and it was not going to happen.
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Meglen: During one of our executive meetings, it was brought to our attention that Murray was asking for $5 million.
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"I don't know who was negotiating, I had simply heard the doctor requested money," Meglen said.
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Meglen said he had heard of some of the doctor's request in their executive meeting.
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Meglen said he was told Michael wanted to bring his doctor on tour. He was not involved in negotiating the contract with Dr. Murray.
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"It can only be done with the approval of the artist," Meglen said. "You can't hire people in these positions without the artist approval."
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AEG Live was the producer for MJ's This Is It tour.
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In a video deposition, shown to the jury, Meglen said it's the producer's responsibility, many times.
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Meglen: It can be producer's responsibility to hire the doctor if there is a doctor on the tour, if artist requests them to do that
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Panish asked if it's true the producer generally negotiates the contract with doctors, physical therapists, etc.
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Panish: Did AEG negotiate the doctor's contract for Rolling Stones?
Meglen: No, it was negotiated by their tour producer
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Meglen said they did not negotiate Dion's doctor's contract and cannot terminate him.
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Panish asked if AEG hired Celine Dion's doctor. Meglen said no. Celine's company pays her doctor.
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"In the context of this email, I'd be only speculating what Paul was doing," Meglen said.
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Panish asked if it's appropriate for one of AEG's executive to call an artist "freak" and "creepy."
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Meglen: I said Mr. Ferrell told me 'you know where your bread is buttered.'
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Panish: You told me "who's paying your salary" is "where your bread if being buttered."
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Panish showed Gongaware's email to Meglen. He said he's seen the email on the newspaper.
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Panish asked Meglen to assume Gongaware wrote an email and said tell Murray, remind him it's AEG, not MJ, paying his salary.
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Meglen said they always want to do what's best for the artist. He had some disagreements with his old boss.
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"I think "creepy" is not that bad of a word," Meglen said. He told Panish he's sure they both have been called creepy behind their back.
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Meglen: Freak had been used numerous times prior, I don't believe it was appropriate term for him to use but term that had been used before
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"I think when someone is having a private conversation and later if that becomes public, that can change things," Meglen said.
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Panish: But in private it's ok?
Meglen said he doesn't believe it's a yes or no answer.
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"It would not be a appropriate is it was in a public fashion," Meglen opined.
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Meglen: I don't believe it is yes or no answer. I believe if people are communicating in a personal level is different from being in public.
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Panish asked if Meglen thought it was appropriate for your lawyers to refer as freaks or creepy?
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Panish asked if it's appropriate for AEG to call artist a freak. Meglen said no.
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"People will use terms about an artist that people have used before," Meglen answered.
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Panish asked if Meglen respects artists. He answered yes. He then asked if it is ok for AEG to refer to an artist as freak or creepy.
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"I still work with animals." He said he was referring to crews and guys who works with him assembling shows and taking them down in hours.
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Panish asked about Meglen's reference to work with animals. "I told you yesterday that the people I worked are like animals," Meglen said.
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Panish asked what's a lot. Meglen said a million/year. Then Panish asked if Meglen gets paid a lot. "I'm not paid a million dollars a year"
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Judge sustained it. Panish asked if Meglen gets paid a lot by AEG. He said a lot to one person is not a lot to another.
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Panish argued this goes to show a bias. He said he's under a 5 year contract with discretionary bonus.
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Panish: How much do you get paid by AEG?
Defendants' objected, said it has nothing to do with this case.
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Panish asked if Meglen will do anything he can to protect AEG. "I'm here to tell the truth," Meglen said.
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Meglen: You assume I believe and agree with those numbers because they are on Billboard magazine. Those numbers are often inflated.
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Meglen said that to him, the biggest stadium cap he played was in Columbus, Ohio for a concert and he got in over 60,000.
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Panish: Are you an expert in stadium?
Meglen: I think I am pretty much an expert in the field.
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Meglen: I have done Pink Floyd and Rolling Stones, we try to sell as much as we can, we got to roughly 60,000.
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Meglen: It looks like they (Billboard) reported 97,000.
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Panish showed Meglen the Billboard Magazine article. He asked how many tickets were sold at U2 performed in Oct 2009 at the Rose Bowl?
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Panish: It was reported on Billboard Magazine
Meglen: I wouldn't believe it
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Panish: Isn't it true U2 had 97,000 people attend at the Rose Bowl?
Meglen: That's not true
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"The maximum capacity of shows I've done at the Rose Bowl was 59,570," Meglen testified.
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Meglen said he met with his attorney 5 days to prepare for his testimony. He was subpoenaed at lunch time and Bina said they will respond.
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Exhibit: Rose Bowl Cap
Rolling Stones VooDoo Lounge, 2 shows
Plaintiff's Stated Capacity: 92,542
Actual Capacity: 59,570
Difference: 32,972
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"It sounds like too big a number to me," Meglen said. Panish said it was 180,000 people for two shows.
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Panish: Isn't it true Celine Dion sold 90,000 tickets at that stadium in 1999?
Meglen: I don't know if that's true, didn't promote that show
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Panish: So what's the maximum seating capacity for that stadium in Paris?
Meglen: I don't know exactly, I'd say 60 to 70,000
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Meglen: Generally, 30% of the numbers that your expert project you have to take out because it gets you to the salable number.
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Panish: What did you testify was the maximum capacity of stadium in France?
Meglen: I don't believe it is 80,000
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Panish: Is Celine Dion honest?
Meglen: Yes

Meglen and Dion have been working together for 12 years. He's familiar with a lot of her shows.
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Panish: Who is?
Meglen: I think Michael is big in pop world, but in my opinion Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin -- "I'm a rocker"
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Panish: Do I believe MJ was the biggest artist of all time?
Meglen: No, I do not
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Meglen: I don't know what their opinion was. I believe that they believe that.
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Panish: Do you agree with your boss' Phillips and Gongaware MJ was the greatest artist of all time?
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Panish, in re-cross, asked: Is Paul Gongaware truthful?
Meglen: Very truthful
P: And Randy Phillips?
M: Yes
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Meglen said there were no endorsements deal for the This Is It tour. Bina said she had no more questions at this time.
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Bina: Was sponsorship 42%?
Meglen: No, there's no correlation, I've never heard anything like it
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Meglen said the Rolling Stones sponsorship with Citibank was $2.5 million, which is not near 42% of the gross revenue.
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Sponsor puts a name in an event, Meglen said. Endorsement is when product/company associates name with an artist, artist does commercials.
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Meglen said he negotiated a number of tour deals, from Beach Boys to Sunkist, Good Vibration deals.
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"In numbers of tickets sold in a day, sure, we have done those kinds of numbers before," Meglen explained.
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Meglen: No, because it was a relatively lower ticket price. We sold as many tickets on Voodoo Lounge as fast as we sold MJ.
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Bina: Was this the best selling show you've ever seen in your career?
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Rolling dates means opening more dates based on demand, Meglen explained. He said initially 10 shows for TII was sold, then 31, 50.
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Meglen: Those were stadiums tours and when we put them on sale we rolled into multiple stadium dates, that's about as high as it gets.
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Meglen: Yes, Voodoo Lounge, Division Bell we almost sold out immediately, we call instant sell outs
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Bina said there was a lot of testimony about the fast pace of sales of tickets. She asked if he has seen any other show sell that fast.
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He said he's familiar with endorsements and sponsorship deals involving a tour. Meglen worked on two shows of MJ's HIStory tour.
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Meglen did 7 whole tour, 3 North America and 2-3 did some shows of the highest grossing shows.
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More shows:
20- Bon Jovi
26- MJ HIStory
28- Pink
30- Bon Jovi
34- Britney Spears
35- Bon Jovi
37- Justin Timberlake
38- Paul McCartney
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Bina: Which tours you promoted all or portion of tour?
8- Rolling Stones
11- Celine Dion
12- Eagles
13- Pink Floyd
18- Bon Jovi
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John Meglen resumed testimony in the afternoon. Bina showed him plaintiffs' Highest Grossing Tours chart created by Erk from Wikipedia data.

 

[ivy]

AEG Lawyers Argue Estimates Of Jackson’s Lost Income Grossly Exaggerated
July 23, 2013 9:13 PM

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AEG, AEG Live, Jackson, John Madden, Katherine Jackson, Los Angeles, Marvin Putnam, Michael Jackson, Murray, Wrongful death claim
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LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Attorneys for concert promoter AEG Live will now make their case in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Michael Jackson.

AEG lawyers spent their first full day defending against the wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday by trying to convince the jury that Jackson family experts who estimated the singer’s premature death cost his estate about a billion dollars in lost income were grossly exaggerating that number.

Asked if Jackson would have been able to fill stadiums and arenas at 100 percent capacity had he lived long enough to conduct a worldwide tour, AEG Live co-CEO John Meglen testified that the answer was no.

According to Meglen’s testimony, seats behind the stage or with obstructed views cannot be assigned to ticket holders. The only seats that can be sold are those with a view of the arrest on stage, a much smaller number than the total number of seats in the venue.

Last week, the jury saw documents prepared by AEG Live that estimated Jackson would earn $132 million for 186 shows, far less than certified public accountant Arthur Erk had estimated when testifying for the Jackson family.


Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, has alleged executives at AEG were negligent when they hired Dr. Conrad Murray to look after the singer during the ‘This Is It’ concert tour. AEG denies any wrongdoing and maintains the doctor was brought on at Jackson’s request.

Murray was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter after giving the singer an overdose of the anesthetic propofol.

AEG lead attorney Marvin Putnam estimates he will need about six weeks to present his case. He said he plans to bring people involved in the tour “who can talk about what they actually saw, what actually occurred here.”

Putnam also said AEG attorneys plan to bring “all of the many, many, many doctors that Mr. Jackson met with” to find out what happened in the private conversations between the singer and his physicians.

Now that Jackson has passed away, and because his medical history has been presented in the trial, Putnam said attorney are now permitted to question physicians about those conversations.

It is unknown if Conrad Murray will be among the doctors called to the stand.

 

[crillon]

AEG offered Michael Jackson estate $60 million for Las Vegas show

By Jeff Gottlieb
July 23, 2013, 1:21 p.m.
An AEG Live executive testified Tuesday that the firm offered Michael Jackson's estate a guarantee of $60 million over 10 years in a deal that included a Las Vegas theatrical show based on the pop star's songs.

John Meglen said the proposal included a "Michael Jackson campus" at the Planet Hollywood Hotel that would have included the singer's artifacts, two restaurants, a nightclub and stores to sell merchandise.

The show would have been directed by Kenny Ortega, the director of the ill-fated "This Is It" 50-concert comeback tour Jackson was preparing when he died in 2009.

The AEG executive testified his company would have paid an additional $40 million to create the show.

"The $40 million gets you to opening night," he said.

Meglen, dressed in a dark blue suit and a white shirt open at the collar, said this would have been AEG's first shot at creating what he called a "conceptual show," rather than one where a live performer is the main attraction.

Conceptual shows, he said, are riskier.

“With the headliner, you have a certain track record of how many tickets they’re going to sell … but if you do a show based on Elton’s music or Celine’s music, it depends on how good the show is, I guess,” said Meglen referring to Elton John and Celine Dion, singers who have done extended runs at Las Vegas hotels.

Meglen said that hearing that Cirque du Soleil was talking to the Jackson estate is what led AEG to make its pitch.

He said they had a meeting with the estate's co-executor, John Branca, in his conference room. Meglen said AEG did a "B-minus, C-plus pitch. In my opinion, they were already down the road and they wanted to do the show with Cirque.”

The Circue du Soleil tribute to Jackson is playing at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, with shows scheduled to open soon in China, Australia and New Zealand.

Meglen said AEG never made Jackson an offer for a conceptual show while he was alive.

“We thought if we could create the show with Michael’s catalog that that could be very successful, but it’s risky,” Meglen said.

The court is hearing the wrongful death case filed by Jackson's mother and three children against AEG Live.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...0,605986.story​

 

[ivy]

Jacksons vs AEG - Day 55- July 24 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Jacksons vs AEG - Day 55- July 24 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Use this thread to post any and all news stories from day 55 of Katherine Jackson vs. AEG trial.

Daily news threads are merged into the main News thread in the stickies

Please help the staff by posting all the news stories as well as tweets from media you see.

Please Don't post updates or tweets from Fans in news thread

 

[ivy]

Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
I’ll try to find out later today what was said in the sidebar.
Will be back in court when they resume in 30 mins. Will update later.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Meglen and Panish went back-and-forth about it for a few questions, then the judge called a sidebar. They were in chambers for several mins.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 3m
Panish asked some questions about how many tickets people could buy for the “This Is It” shows. Meglen said he didn’t know.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
He said Phillips may have believed that was true, but he didn't believe Jackson could have done 200 shows in London.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
Asked if Phillips’ statement in the email was a false one, Meglen said yes. He added that no one in the business has a “crystal ball.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
Meglen said he didn’t agree and that he didn’t believe that Jackson could have done 200 shows in London.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 4m
He next asked Meglen about Phillips’ contention in an email that Jackson could have sold out 200 shows in London.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 5m
Panish conceded the billions of people in Mumbai remark wasn't right and moved on to other topics.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
Panish at one point said that there were billions of people in Mumbai alone, prompting several attorneys and the judge to chime in.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
“It’s not a very big market, that I do know,” Meglen said of the India concert scene. A dispute over India’s population ensued.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 6m
Panish then rattled off several acts who peformed in India: Beyonce, Akon, Shakira, 50 Cent. Meglen didn’t dispute they performed there.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
The lawyer pointed to several shows planned for India and his contention that big artists didn’t perform in India.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Panish went through the list, showing that AEG had plotted out potential shows in Europe, South Africa and other locations.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
After a brief break, Panish showed Meglen the AEG projections for a worldwide tour for Jackson that were displayed last week.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
Meglen didn’t review the actual contracts for the “This Is It” shows, but said he had input on ticket prices, other issues.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 7m
It took a long time and several questions to establish that Meglen was briefed about negotiations during meetings with other AEG Live execs.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
Panish then asked whether Meglen was personally involved in the negotiations. He said he wasn’t at the negotiating table.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 8m
Meglen didn’t remember the time frame, so Panish played his deposition in which he said the negotiations started in Fall of 2008.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 9m
Meglen and Panish went back-and-forth for several minutes over when AEG’s negotiations began with Jackson in 2008.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 25m
He said he doesn’t believe that Phillips’ statement is true, but it was a personal opinion.
“To me, she’s bigger,” Meglen said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 25m
Meglen works directly with Dion and her tours in North America. It took him a few tries before he answered the question.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 25m
The lawyer then asked Meglen whether he agreed with AEG Live CEO that Michael Jackson was bigger than Celine Dion.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Panish asked Meglen a bit about the AEG corporate structure. Meglen reports to the CEO of AEG Inc., he said.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Panish asked whether Meglen was denying that Jackson had “huge ticket drawing power.” Meglen responded, “Not at all.”
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 26m
Meglen: “Paul and I have worked on different projects in our lives.” He said he couldn't give the lawyer a simple yes or no answer.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 27m
Panish wanted to know why Meglen didn't agree with Gongaware's characterization of the "This Is It" ticket sales.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 27m
The lawyer asked about Paul Gongaware’s contention that he had never seen anything like the “This Is It” ticket demand.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 27m
Panish's questioning focused on AEG execs Paul Gongaware and Randy Phillips saying there was no one bigger than Jackson.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 28m
Panish again asked Meglen about his contention from yesterday that there were bigger stars than Michael Jackson.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 28m
Meglen conceded that you could probably fit 97k people in the Rose Bowl with the right stage, but they might not have all bought tickets.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 28m
He said Michael Jackson’s stage for the “This Is It” show was different, an “end stage” setup that wouldn't allow as many concertgoers.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 29m
Meglen pointed out that the U2 show had a 360-degree stage that allowed them to sell tickets throughout the entire Rose Bowl.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 29m
Panish showed Meglen a photo from the U2 show. Fans were packed in the stands and hundreds were on the field.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 30m
He said he doesn’t believe the 97k figure was for paid attendance, which is what matters to him and what he was referring to.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 30m
The executive said he didn’t have evidence to dispute the 97k attendance figure, but made clear he doesn’t believe it.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 30m
Meglen said yesterday he didn’t believe the figure as it was reported by Billboard magazine. Panish asked him for any evidence to dispute it
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 30m
Panish asked Meglen about his testimony yesterday on the reported 97k attendance figure for a U2 concert at the Rose Bowl.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 31m
The session actually ended when the judge called a sidebar right before the lunch break. Updates on testimony coming up now...
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 31m
There were lots of objections. The judge also had to tell Meglen to give yes or no answers, and told Panish not to argue with the witness.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 31m
There were some testy exchanges between Meglen and Panish. The lawyer went back over a lot of Meglen’s testimony from yesterday.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 31m
AEG Live executive John Meglen is back on the stand. He’s being cross examined by plaintiff’s lawyer Brian Panish.
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Anthony McCartney ‏@mccartneyAP 31m
We’re on the lunch break in the Jackson vs AEG Live case. Katherine Jackson and her nephew Trent are back in court today.

 

[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 55- July 24 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 26m
Attorneys went to judge's chamber and talked for about 10 minutes. They came back and judge broke session for lunch.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Defendants' attorney objected, judge sustained it and asked to go to sidebar to talk to attorneys.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 27m
Panish asked Meglen to assume Randy Phillips told the truth. "I know it's a big assumption," Panish said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
"Everybody exaggerates, and when something is hot everyone wants to take it to the moon," Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
"I don't know if I agree there were 525,000 people in the queue," Meglan opined.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
Panish asked if Phillips was more hands on than he was in "This Is It" tour. He said yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
"No one has a crystal ball in our business," Meglen said. "He could've done 200 shows is purely speculation on his behalf."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 28m
Meglen said he does not believe that is true. "He believed that, I don't believe that."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Panish showed an email from Phillips saying "We could have done 200+ shows based on demand."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
"My opinion is no, that he he could not have done 200 shows in London," Meglen testified.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Meglen said he does not believe MJ could sell 200 shows in London. Panish said Randy Phillips said that.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 29m
Panish also named Shakira, Akon, 50 Cent that went to India. The email projection shows 3 shows in India plus one private for MJ.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
Panish: Do you know she went to India?
Meglen: I have not idea
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
Meglen said he thinks MJ did one or two shows in India.
Panish: Is Beyonce no one?
Meglen: No, she's a very popular
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
Panish: You told us yesterday no one goes to India
Meglen: Not that many do. Again, I told you very few people, no one as in few people
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 30m
It lists cities, the amount of shows and weeks in Europe, South Africa, Asia (and Middle East), India and US.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Panish showed email Gongaware sent with the attachment of the worldwide MJ tour and cc'd to Meglen.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Meglen spoke with Gongaware about previous MJ's tour. He knows that Michael canceled a tour because MJ entered rehab.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 31m
Meglen said he saw Dr. Finkelstein at the Coachella festival. He got tickets from AEG.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Panish asked Meglen is he knows Dr. Finkelstein. He said he asked which tour he was in with Michael Jackson.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Panish: Isn't Paul Gongaware suggesting to lie to Michael Jackson?
Meglen: No he is not
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 32m
Email cont'd: Maybe gross is a better number to throw around, if we need to use numbers with Mikey listening.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
Email cont'd: venue and advertising costs, which is quite good. His gross will approach $ half a billion.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 33m
Email cont'd: If we use show income, it's over a quarter of a billion dollars. His net share works out to be 50% after local
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 34m
Email: It's a big number, but this is not a number MJ will want to hear. He thinks he is so much bigger than that.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 34m
Panish showed an email from Gongaware about MJ first draft of worldwide tour projection. It lists "net to Mikey $132 million."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 34m
Wooley doesn't work for AEG, but to Rolling Stones now. Hougdahl "Bugzee" is working for Shania Twain.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 35m
Timm Wooley is friends of Meglen. They haven't discussed the trial. The last time they saw each other was in London for Rolling Stones show.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 36m
Panish played video deposition, where Meglen said he doesn't recall if he was involved in the forecast for MJ tour.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 36m
The exec said he gave input in ticket prices, scaling and places to have the show.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 36m
Meglen explained Gongaware has not been involved in Celine Dion's tour, but they give each other credit.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 37m
Meglen said he was a co-producer of the show not the movie.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 37m
Meglen said he was not involved in "This Is It" movie. Panish said he was credited as co-producer of the movie.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 38m
He never reviewed the contract as was being drafted, Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 38m
Meglen explained he was involved in the internal discussions, in conversations with Gongaware and Phillips.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 38m
"As CEO of Concerts West, it's my job to review any negotiations people are having regarding tour," Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 38m
Meglen said that the negotiation is not only the contract, but various internal conversations about the tour.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 38m
Meglen: I was not personally involved, face to face, with MJ's people
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 39m
Meglen said he was not at the table during the negotiation, he would be at the office doing his work.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 39m
Meglen: It's the truth, but I'm not good with dates, need to look at my calendar
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 39m
Panish: Is that the truth or not, sir? Or you don't know the truth?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 39m
Panish played Meglen's deposition, where he was asked when he recalled the negotiations with MJ started. Meglen said Summer or Fall 2008.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 40m
"In my opinion Celine is right up there with Michael Jackson and is bigger," Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 41m
Meglen: I do, myself, personally believe that that is not true
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 41m
Panish: Do you agree with Randy Phillips that MJ was a bigger artist than Celine Dion, yes or no?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 41m
Meglen: I agree that an artist should go to some of the rehearsals, yes
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 41m
"Randy may have felt Michael was obligated, but don't know it was contractually obligated," Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 42m
Meglen: I don't know if Michael had a contractual obligation.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 42m
Meglen: I don't know the context of which this question was asked. You are asking me to opine on what Randy was thinking
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 42m
Panish: Do you agree with Randy Phillips, the CEO of AEG, believe Mr. Jackson had an obligation to attend rehearsal?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 43m
Meglen: I agree that's the most that Paul had seen

Meglen said he has done tours for 35 years, probably hundreds of tours.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
Panish: Do you agree or disagree this is the most amazing ticket sales Mr. Gongaware has ever seen?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
Meglen: I don't think I agree with that statement, but I think that's what Paul thought.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
Panish asked if Meglen agrees with Gongaware that the sale of MJ's tickets was the fastest ever in the industry.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 44m
Meglen said he's been working with Gongaware for 35 years.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 48m
Meglen smiled at Panish.

Panish: Is it funny Mr. Meglen?
Judge: Mr. Panish, don't argue -- she shook her head
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 49m
Meglen explained he based his opinion on his experience promoting and producing stadium shows for 35 years.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 49m
"No one from U2's group told me that 97,000 people did not attend the Rose Bowl," Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 49m
Meglen: When I talk about ticket sales, we talk about paid tickets. We don't really care about people who don't pay tickets
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 49m
"I said that I don't believe it," Meglen said, "and I still believe that's not true. My answer said it is not true they had 97,000."
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 50m
Meglen said that was not true.

Panish: If you testified to that it is a lie, then?
Meglen: I don't believe that's what I testified to
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 50m
Panish asked if Meglen spoke with someone promoting the U2 concert at the Rose Bowl and that there were only 60,000 people there.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 50m
VooDoo Lounge, 180-200 degrees, you can sell 60,000 seats, Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 51m
Meglen: I never disputed what U2 sold at Rose Bowl. I cannot tell you how much are paid tickets, how much are what we call 'paper ticket'
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 52m
Panish: You told us yesterday you spoke with the promoters of U2. Who did you speak with?
Meglen: Jerry Barae -- he's in Chicago
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 52m
Panish asked how many seats are in the Rose Bowl. Meglen said the stadium is around 100,000 people.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 53m
Panish showed picture of U2 concert at the Rose Bowl. Meglen said the floor is not completely filled up.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 53m
Panish asked if Billboard Magazine was wrong about U2 having 97K people. "I told you I do not believe the numbers on Billboard" Meglen said
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 54m
Meglen: If you have a center stage, 360 in the round with a small stage in the middle, you could probably get 97,000, yes.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 55m
"I'm not trying to tell you that, it depends on the size of the production. Michael was a stage end production," Meglen opined.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 55m
Panish asked if Meglen was saying the Rose Bowl can't fit 97,000.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 55m
Meglen: No, I'm not aware of that because I was not involved in the show
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 56m
Meglen said he was at the Rose Bowl but didn't watch the U2 concert. Panish asked if 97,000 people sounds right.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 56m
Meglen: U2 Concert was called 360, so I'm assuming it sold 360 degrees.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 59m
Panish: For a music concert?
Meglen: You'll need to tell me the size of the production in order to tell you
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 59m
Meglen: There are many factors that go into that

"I believe the seating capacity for a football game is 100,000," Meglen said.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 59m
Panish showed the Rose Bowl chart defendants created and asked what's the maximum seating capacity in the Rose Bowl?
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 1h
John Meglen resumed cross examination. Brian Panish, attorney for the Jackson, did the questioning.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 1h
Katherine Jackson is back in court today. This is the first time she came to court after taking the stand.
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ABC7 Court News ?@ABC7Courts 1h
Hello from the courthouse in downtown LA. Day 55 of Jackson family vs AEG trial is under way.
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[ivy]

Re: Jacksons vs AEG - Day 55- July 24 2013 - News Only (no discussion)

Anthony McCartney ?@mccartneyAP 24s
Friday, Monday and Tuesday are scheduled to be half-day trial sessions.
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Anthony McCartney ?@mccartneyAP 1m
... and jury will also hear testimony from David Fournier.
Thursday will be the last full day of trial for a few days.
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Anthony McCartney ?@mccartneyAP 1m
My story will have a bit on what Farshchian said, so will post a link when it's out.
Tomorrow's witnesses will be Dr. Scott Saunders & ...
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Anthony McCartney ?@mccartneyAP 4m
Jury heard the videotaped testimony of Miami-based doctor Alimorad Farshchian, who testified about treatments on Jackson in 2002.
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Anthony McCartney ?@mccartneyAP 5m
Not going to get a lot of updates out from Jackson vs AEG Live afternoon testimony today, but will have an updated story soon.
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Anthony McCartney ?@mccartneyAP 9m
Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos will determine whether Mr. Wagener will be permanently blocked from the courtroom tomorrow.
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Anthony McCartney ?@mccartneyAP 10m
Jackson trial judge bans spectator after he snaps photo of jurors in a hallway: http://bit.ly/165FykA
He says it was an inadvertent pic.

 

[ivy]

Spectator banned from Jackson trial over photo
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By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES — A spectator attending the civil trial over Michael Jackson's death was banned by a judge from watching the proceedings after he snapped a photo in a courthouse hallway that included jurors hearing the case.

Bailiffs confiscated William Wagener's cellphone and ordered him to return on Thursday to find out whether the ban will remain in place or other disciplinary actions will be taken.

Wagener said he inadvertently snapped the photo on his smartphone while riding an escalator. He cooperated with bailiffs to retrieve the photo and said he did not send it to anyone.

The photo is the latest incident that has raised concerns about the security around jurors hearing the negligence case filed by Jackson's mother against AEG Live LLC. Two alternate jurors were approached by a woman last month who told them not to award any money to the Jackson family.

In recent days, tiny windows on the courtroom door were blocked after jurors reported seeing someone press a camera to the window and snap a photo during the proceedings. Videotaping and photography in the courthouse are banned without a court order, and a judge blocked a request by news outlets to broadcast the trial.

Bailiffs or a court clerk give daily reminders of the courtroom's rules, which include a ban on any transmissions from inside the trial or loud outbursts during the testimony.

Wagener, 67, said he posts updates on the trial on Facebook and YouTube and has sold rights to videos he made during Jackson's 2005 criminal trial. He said if he's banned from the trial, it will hurt his ability to cover the case. He said being in the courtroom is the only way to hear the inflection of lawyers and witnesses and get a full sense of the proceedings.

Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos said she would consult with another judge about how to handle Wagener and the photo of jurors.

___