When you invest as much time as the Jackson family did with its wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live (and when you aim for a payout upwards of $40 billion), you don't take losing your case sitting down. Hence it shouldn't be too surprising when lawyers filed legal papers on Monday for Katherine Jackson (Michael Jackson's mother) and the pop star's three children, calling for a retrial.
The family claims that misconduct among the trial's jury and "insufficient evidences" were grounds for a new trial. The documents indicate that the family also has new evidence to further its cause at a new trial. The original case ended during October, when the court ruled that AEG had not done anything irresponsible in the hiring of Conrad Murray, the doctor charged with manslaughter in the overdose of Jackson (partially because the family could not convincingly prove that AEG had even hired the man).
It would seem that the Jackson estate is fighting a losing battle with this one. Turning over the original verdict is tough in any case, and any evidence the family brings up now will be suspect, if for no reason other than they had months during the original case to present their case. Where was that evidence then? As AEG senior vice president Shawn Trell commented during the original trial, the family's whole case against the company, along with the massive damages it demanded, presented a paradox.
"The jury heard what poor condition Michael Jackson was in, how he had deteriorated, he was frail, underweight, he wasn't going to be able to do the 50 shows," he said. "Then when it came to damages, somehow he was going to tour more from age 50 to 66 than he did at any point in his life. The jury could pick up on that. They couldn't have it both ways."
CORRECTION: Katherine Jackson and the Jackson family are NOT affiliated with the Michael Jackson estate, you know, despite being his family. The Michael Jackson estate is not involved with the push for a retrial, nor was it involved with the Jackson family's previous lawsuit against AEG Live.
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