The long legal battle between Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, and the late singer’s estate has reached another level, as Bigi Jackson has opposed his grandmother’s wishes in court.
After Michael Jackson’s passing, attorney John Branca and A&R executive John McClain became co-executors of the performer’s estate. That means Branca and McClain have the authority to negotiate the sale of the performers’ assets to other companies. Last year, the duo went to court against the Jackson family due to a dispute concerning one of these transactions.
While the legal documents uncovered by People don’t specify which transaction is at the heart of the dispute, it’s believed that Branca and McClain agreed to sell the rights of Michael Jackson’s discography to Sony. Katherine Jackson and her grandsons argued that the $600 million offered by Sony was below market value and that the estate co-executors didn’t do the due research to get a proper deal.
The Jackson family lost the legal battle, with a judge allowing the co-executors to proceed with the deal. For Michael Jackson’s children, that was the end of the issue. Katherine, however, decided to contest the decision, which put her at odds with Bigi.
Why are Bigi and Katherine Jackson fighting in court?
As descendants of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop’s three children ultimately own their father’s estate. That means their fortune will increase or decrease, according to Branca and McClain’s decisions. The Jackson family felt the King of Pop’s musical work was worth more than $600 million, so they went to court. Yet, they don’t seem willing to spend much more money battling the estates’ co-executors.
On the other hand, Katherine is ready to do whatever it takes to change the court’s decision, including hiring elite lawyers who charge a fortune per hour. She also wants the money to cover her legal fees with Michael Jackson’s estate. And since Katherine believes she’s fighting for her grandchildren’s future, she expects them to pay the bill.
Bigi disagrees with his grandmother and thinks expending the estate’s money on fancy lawyers would be wasting resources. In short, Bigi is trying to stop Katherine from using the estate’s money to continue her crusade against Clara and McCain.
To be clear, Bigi is not opposed to funding Katherine’s legal expenses if they are “reasonable.” He just doesn’t want the bill to be so expensive that the whole process becomes useless. So, since the eventual trial might be long and fruitless, Bigi’s lawyer argues that he wonders “if four lawyers charging fees of $840 to $1,400 per hour was necessary.”
Neither Bigi nor Katherine’s representatives commented on the matter until now. Furthermore, since the legal battle is still ongoing, there’s no way to tell who will come on top, if Bigi or Katherine.
