Update | Concert promoter AEG Live cleared of negligence in Michael Jackson's death
Family loses lawsuit claiming AEG was responsible for death of 'King of Pop' by hiring an unfit doctor, Conrad Murray, who prescribed overdose
A Los Angeles jury cleared concert promoter AEG Live of liability in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Michael Jackson, in a trial that offered a glimpse into the private life of the so-called King of Pop.
The verdict that the doctor the company hired to care for the singer was not unfit for his job capped a sensational five-month trial that is expected to change the way entertainment companies treat their most risky talent.
"The jury's decision completely vindicates AEG Live, confirming what we have known from the start - that although Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy, it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making," defence attorney Marvin Putnam said following Wednesday's verdict.
Putnam, who was heckled by Jackson supporters outside the court, said after the trial that AEG Live had never considered settling the case out of court.
Still, the case sent shock waves through the music industry, with concert promoters as well as well-known entertainment insurers expected to beef up policies for acts they insure and potentially raise some prices.
Jackson's 83-year-old mother, Katherine, and his three children sued AEG Live over the singer's 2009 death at age 50 in Los Angeles from an overdose of the surgical anaesthetic propofol.
The Jackson family claimed in its lawsuit that AEG Live, the concert division of privately held Anschutz Entertainment Group, negligently hired Conrad Murray as Jackson's personal physician and ignored signs that the Thriller singer was in poor health.