The King of Pop just had his art sold, though his mother did everything she could to prevent it.
According to the Los Angeles Times, a Los Angeles appeals court denied an attempt by Michael Jackson’s mom, Katherine Jackson, to halt the singer’s estate from selling a portion of his songs to Sony for close to $600 million.
Last Wednesday, the appeals court upheld a prior ruling that, according to a probate court, Katherine Jackson’s objections to the transaction do not hold any water.
It was determined by an appeals court that Michael Jackson’s will grants the musician’s executors “broad powers to buy and sell estate assets in the estate’s best interests” while stipulating that “all of the estate’s assets will be distributed to the trust” — a trust that the performer’s mother and children are beneficiaries.
Katherine Jackson contended that the provisions were contradictory. But the appeals court disagreed.
Additionally, the appeals court rejected Katherine Jackson’s challenge “on grounds that she forfeited her contention that the proposed transaction violates the terms of Michael’s will because she did not make that contention in a lower court.”
Katherine Jackson, according to court documents, had previously complained that selling her prodigy son’s assets from his catalog would violate her son’s wishes, but acknowledged that executors had the “power to do so.” The appeals court also said that Katherine Jackson was the only family member and beneficiary of the trust to, in fact, in their eyes, object to the sale.
“We conclude that the provisions are not inconsistent: Read together, they give executors broad powers to manage estate property while the estate remains in probate, and they provide for the transfer of all estate property to the trust when the probate actions is concluded,” according to the LA Times.
According to Billboard, Sony closed an agreement to buy half of Michael Jackson’s publishing and recorded masters catalog, and according to sources, its $1.2 billion value could be the largest valuation ever of a musician’s music assets. Still, other sources say it might be as much as $1.5 billion.
The deal, which closed late last year, is “at a bigger valuation than the $1.2 billion that Queen is currently seeking.”
