Why AEG should prevail in Katharine Jackson's lawsuit
How long would one have to work, to earn $40 billion dollars? If you earned $1 million per month, it would take 3,333 years to earn that much money. That should make it crystal clear that there was no way Michael Jackson was going to earn $40 billion from the tour that AEG was putting together, even if it did again raise his star into the stratosphere in the music/entertainment industry.
So why is she suing AEG for $40 billion? Because she can. I have no doubt that her team of lawyers has hired some "experts" who will advance theories on how he could have earned that much money from the tour being wildly successful and having his career 're-launched'. But it's all a bunch of crap. ABBA turned down a payment of $1 billion for a tour. The fact they hadn't toured in forever is what made them worth one-fortieth of what AEG is being sued for. Michael Jackson is not worth 40 times what ABBA is for a concert tour.
The whole lawsuit is pretty much baseless anyway, in my opinion. Now I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on television. Nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. But I do have an understanding of some of the basic principles of civil lawsuits. You have to prove who is at fault. AEG may have agreed to take on the burden of paying Doctor Conrad Murray to treat Michael Jackson and to keep him fit to rehearse and then tour; but the choice of Dr. Murray was Michael's. The choice to abuse propofol was Michael's. AEG may have been aware of his drug use and his weakened physical condition, but they don't have a duty to prevent him from attempting to earn a living by saying "hey Michael, you're not well enough to rehearse. Go home, rest up and come back in a few months when you're fit."
This is a situation I'm very familiar with. My bosses at work depend on me to set the limits under which I can work. If they ask me to work and I shouldn't, I need to be the one to say "no". I can't just work when they say work, and then turn around and sue them because in making that choice I've worsened my physical condition.
So I hope that AEG prevails in this lawsuit, in short order. It's ridiculous. It's money-grubbing, something that the Jackson family has been doing when it comes to Michael since he was a little boy. Even in death he can't escape his family's desire to live a better life due to his labors.
So why is she suing AEG for $40 billion? Because she can. I have no doubt that her team of lawyers has hired some "experts" who will advance theories on how he could have earned that much money from the tour being wildly successful and having his career 're-launched'. But it's all a bunch of crap. ABBA turned down a payment of $1 billion for a tour. The fact they hadn't toured in forever is what made them worth one-fortieth of what AEG is being sued for. Michael Jackson is not worth 40 times what ABBA is for a concert tour.
The whole lawsuit is pretty much baseless anyway, in my opinion. Now I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on television. Nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. But I do have an understanding of some of the basic principles of civil lawsuits. You have to prove who is at fault. AEG may have agreed to take on the burden of paying Doctor Conrad Murray to treat Michael Jackson and to keep him fit to rehearse and then tour; but the choice of Dr. Murray was Michael's. The choice to abuse propofol was Michael's. AEG may have been aware of his drug use and his weakened physical condition, but they don't have a duty to prevent him from attempting to earn a living by saying "hey Michael, you're not well enough to rehearse. Go home, rest up and come back in a few months when you're fit."
This is a situation I'm very familiar with. My bosses at work depend on me to set the limits under which I can work. If they ask me to work and I shouldn't, I need to be the one to say "no". I can't just work when they say work, and then turn around and sue them because in making that choice I've worsened my physical condition.
So I hope that AEG prevails in this lawsuit, in short order. It's ridiculous. It's money-grubbing, something that the Jackson family has been doing when it comes to Michael since he was a little boy. Even in death he can't escape his family's desire to live a better life due to his labors.
posted by me at 8:43 AM
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