NEWSKatherine Jackson in Court Over MJ'S AEG Contracts
Aug. 10 2009, Published 7:18 a.m. ET
Last week Katherine Jackson fought to gain access to her late son Michael Jackson's existing contracts with AEG Live, Bravado and Columbia Pictures, and was granted the right to view them as long as she kept them confidential from the press. Today Katherine was back in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting that she be able to share information with "regulators or the LAPD."
Katherine's lawyers want the confidentiality agreement to be lifted, saying,"If she wants to have a free conversation with law enforcement agency or a regulator, then those people would also be required to sign a confidentiality agreement. That way, the information can be shared but protected."
However AEG's lawyer fought back, stating,"Katherine Jackson can't pick and choose who she wants to share this sensitive information to... We have an open door to any police, regulator or governmental agency. They need to only knock on our door, your honor, so that we can keep information protected."
Judge Beckloff agreed with AEG, saying Katherine is only an "interested third party," and the deals are between the estate's administrators and AEG. Katherine can view the deals, but not share with police or anyone else without a court order.
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"I don't get the burdensome nature of complying with the confidentiality," Judge Beckloff said. "She is a third party who has access to documents. If she wants more than that to notify law enforcement, she can file and ex-parte request for a hearing."
AEG and others want all the documents regarding financial deals with MJ to be sealed -- which means that Katherine and the press cannot see the details unless the court allows it. This includes the orginal agreement between Michael and AEG Live, which would detail how much he would've received for the "This Is It" tour. Only co-executors of his estate and their lawyers can see those deals.
"The exposure of the facts in these documents could provide a negative outcome to the artist and make it difficult for negotiations to occur. Harm would occur if this information was disseminated publicly," argued AEG's lawyers.
