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Jacko memorabilia auction cancelled
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 15 April 2009
The planned sale of nearly 1400 items belonging to Michael Jackson has been cancelled after that previously reported dispute between the singer and the auction house which was staging the sale.
As previously reported, after initially supporting the Jacko memorabilia fest planned by Julien’s Auction House in LA, and indeed making most of the items up for grabs available to the auctioneers, the singer then accused the company of reneging on a promise to let him personally approve the list of items for sale before publicising the auction. Darren Julien argued that he’d done everything by the book, and that Jacko’s people had signed off all announcements, adding that he therefore planned to proceed with the sale.
Legal action followed, though a judge blocked initial attempts to halt the sale earlier this month. Another hearing was due this week ahead of the planned sale, which was due to begin on 22 Apr. However, yesterday the auction house, which claims to have spent $2 million putting the auction together, announced it had reached an out of court settlement with Jackson’s people and as a result the sale would now not go ahead.
A joint statement from the auctioneers and Jackson’s rep, a Dr Thome R Thome, implied that the goods that had been for sale will now be exhibited instead. The told reporters: “There was so much interest from so many of Jackson’s fans that instead of putting the items in the hands of private collectors, Dr Tohme and Julien’s Auction House have made arrangements that will allow the collection to be shared with and enjoyed by Jackson’s fans for many years to come”.
Confirming the deal meant the auction was cancelled, Julien told reporters: “It’s been our hopes to resolve this in the beginning, when the lawsuit was filed. It was in our best interest to resolve it. We continue to have great respect for Michael Jackson … I guess you could call it the greatest auction that never happened”.
