Michael Jackson's son Blanket is asking a Los Angeles judge to block his grandmother from using money from the iconic singer's estate to fund ongoing legal battles against the estate's executors over their recent $600 million settlement with Sony.
In court filings taken by Advertising signBlanket argued Monday that the estate should not foot the bill Kathryn Jacksonan appeal is pending, in which he challenges a decision last year that gave co-executors John Branca and John McClain approval to proceed with an unnamed transaction.
While the disputed deal itself is not specifically named in the legal documents, it appears to be a $600 million deal by Jackson's estate to sell part of the singer's catalog to Sony, the terms of which were first reported by Advertising sign last month.
Monday's objections highlight a recent rift between Catherine and Blunkett. Both initially opposed the proposed estate transaction, but after a judge ruled last year that the deal could go ahead, Blanket and Jackson's other children accepted the decision. Kathryn chose to continue fighting, filing an appeal that remains pending.
In December, Katherine filed motions asking the estate to pay for her legal bills stemming from her objections, including the ongoing appeal case. But in his testimony Monday, Blanket said it would be “unfair” to make him and his siblings pay for this case, as his grandmother's efforts face “great odds.”
“It is readily apparent that a reversal on appeal would be an extreme effort,” wrote lawyers for Blanket, who now goes by the name Bigi. “Given these odds, Bigi decided not to waste his resources on joining an appeal. However, Catherine decided to appeal this court's decision. This decision is not for the benefit of the heirs.”
It's unclear exactly how much Katherine is asking for. In a court filing earlier this month, Branca and McClain said she had requested more than $561,548 to cover her legal fees for both her initial objections and the current appeal. In that filing, the executors said they strongly objected to any estate payments for her “failed appeal” and “meritless appeal.”
In his testimony Monday, Blanket did not fully object to his grandmother's request. He argued that the estate should, in effect, pay its legal bills for its initial opposition to the deal — arguing that it had presented “material facts” about the proposed transaction and that “all heirs and beneficiaries benefited from the scrutiny of this court”.
But he also argued that the actual dollar amount he had requested “may be high” and questioned whether he really needed to hire “four attorneys charging $840 to $1,400 an hour.” And he argued that any legal fees for the ongoing appeal should be refused in full as the decision allowing the deal to go ahead was “reasoned and detailed”.
“Katherine's application has the practical effect of requiring Biggie and his siblings to pay for her appeal,” Blunkett wrote. “It would be unfair to force these beneficiaries to bear this burden when they have expressly decided that an appeal would not be in their best interests.”
Katherine Jackson's attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. Representatives for Jackson's estate declined to comment.
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