Paris Jackson has hit a major crossroads in her legal battle over her late father Michael Jackson’s estate.
According to People, Los Angeles Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff ruled on Monday to dismiss most of the 27-year-old musician’s lawsuit, citing California’s anti-SLAPP law.
The law was enacted in response to “a number of lawsuits brought primarily to chill the effective exercise of free speech and constitutional rights to grievance redress” through “abuses of judicial process,” according to the California Anti-SLAPP Project.
Only some of Paris’ claims are in dispute. However, a spokesperson for Paris told Page Six that she plans to resubmit the petition.
“This order is limited to minor procedural issues and does not change the facts. The pattern of behavior exhibited by the executors and their attorneys raises serious red flags, and Paris remains committed to ensuring that the family is treated fairly. We will be filing an updated application shortly,” a Paris spokesperson said Thursday.
According to People magazine, Paris filed a complaint against her father’s estate in June, claiming she had “concerns” about payments from her father’s estate.
The City of Paris alleges in court documents that executors John Branca and John McClain paid unapproved “bonuses” to certain law firms each year, and that in 2018 the executors sought approval for a $625,000 payment to three law firms.
“These payments appear to consist, at least in part, of lavish gratuities given to already well-compensated attorneys,” the court documents argued in part.
Then, in an Oct. 9 filing on behalf of Michael’s estate, it was reported that Paris received $65 million in benefits from her late father’s estate.
“Few people benefited more from the executor’s business decisions than the appellants themselves, who received approximately $65 million in benefits from the estate administrator,” the filing alleges.
“If the executors had followed the typical strategy of estates like this in July 2009, she never would have gotten that.”
It is noteworthy that Paris’ agent has not formally responded to the estate’s estimate of how much Paris will pay.
The estate also claimed that they were responsible for turning the King of Pop’s estate into a $2 billion valuation.
“The executors’ business decisions transformed an estate that ‘originally contained only debt and significant ongoing obligations’ into a $2 billion estate that is now ‘a mogul and force in the music business today,'” the filing states.
In their September filing, the enforcers also noted that the “Beat It” hitmaker’s sexual assault accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, are seeking $400 million in damages for alleged abuse.
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