Los Angeles (CNN) — AEG Live filed an insurance claim to recover losses from Michael Jackson’s death the same day he died, according to a lawyer for Jackson’s family.
That revelation may not relate to the heart of the wrongful death lawsuit against Michael Jackson’s last concert promoter, but Jackson lawyers hope it could sway jurors to see AEG Live executives as motivated by money over the pop icon’s needs.
It is one of many points Jackson lawyers will try to make Monday when they call AEG Live’s top lawyer to the witness stand as the trial’s fourth week begins in a Los Angeles courtroom.
Jackson’s mother and three children contend AEG Live is liable in the singer’s death because its executives negligently hired, retained or supervised Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
The promoters ignored a series of red flags that should have warned them Jackson was in danger as he was pressured to get ready for his comeback concerts, the Jackson lawsuit claims.
AEG Live lawyers counter that it was Jackson who chose, hired and supervised Murray, and that he was responsible for his own bad decisions. Its executives could not be expected to know Murray was using the surgical anesthetic propofol, the drug the coroner ruled killed him, to treat his insomnia, they argue.
Jackson lead lawyer Brian Panish will question AEG Live general counsel Shawn Trell about his company’s negotiations with Murray to be Jackson’s personal physician for his “This Is It” shows in London.
The doctor signed the contract prepared by AEG lawyers and sent it back to the company a day before Jackson’s death. The company argues it was not an executed contract because their executives and Michael Jackson never signed it.
The Jackson lawyers argue that e-mails, budget documents and the fact that the doctor was already working for two months showed a binding agreement between AEG and Murray.
READ MORE: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/20/showbiz/jackson-death-trial/index.html
Source: CNN / MJ-Upbeat.com
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