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AEG faces new lawsuit over This Is It

By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 14 November 2012

AEG Live is facing another lawsuit in relation to the ill-fated Michael Jackson ‘This Is It’ tour that never happened. As previously reported, Jackson’s mother Katherine is currently suing the live music giant, which was promoting the ‘This Is It’ shows, claiming that the live company should accept some liability for the death of her son in 2009, mainly because it hired Conrad Murray, the doctor convicted of causing the late king of pop’s death through negligence.

A new lawsuit has now been filed by a Michael Williams, who was Jackson’s personal assistant at the time of the pop star’s death. The new litigation seemingly relies on AEG’s contract with Jackson regards the ‘This Is It’ venture (a copy of which seems to have been attached to the lawsuit), in which, Williams claims, Jackson’s staff were identified explicitly as beneficiaries of the deal.

The argument goes that, because of Jackson’s death, those beneficiaries did not receive the monies they expected from the ‘This Is It’ tour. As, in Williams’ (and the Jacksons’) eyes, AEG was in part responsible for Jackson’s demise, that means, the lawsuit argues, the live firm should compensate any of the singer’s staff who lost income when the ‘This Is It’ project ended prematurely.

Williams has requested that his case be treated as a class action, so that any staff member of Jackson alluded to in the AEG contract would be due damages if the litigation was successful. It’s seems an ambitious lawsuit, and will depend, to a great extent, on the outcome of the Jackson family’s litigation regards AEG’s liability, or not, for Michael’s death. The live firm insists that the singer himself appointed and managed Murray.