Nseabong Okong-Ekong
4 July 2009
(Page 2 of 3)
Promoters are generally required to take out insurance to cover concert cancellations or non-appearances, said Malcolm Tarling, a spokesman for the Association of British Insurers.
Many of the policies are extremely specific, allocating levels of payouts according to the reason for the cancellation - including the cause of any death. If a drug overdose was specified as a risk with lower coverage, AEG may be entitled to less money.
Much of the company's ability to weather the financial storm caused by Jackson's demise may depend on how much of its losses are covered by insurance.
And that will be determined in part by what the Los Angeles County coroner's office finally determines as the cause of the mega star's death. Officials have warned it will be up to six weeks before a cause of death can be pinpointed because complicated toxicology tests are needed.
AEG Live has so far been tight lipped about the amount of insurance coverage it had for the concerts and which companies were the underwriters. Insurance market Lloyd's of London says its member corporations underwrote some policies, but said AEG likely had multiple contracts, with several insurers all taking on a portion of the risk.
A pointer to the legal fireworks following Michael Jackson's death has begun with the filing of his seven-year-old will in a Los Angeles court. The will gives his entire estate to a family trust and names his mother as a beneficiary of the trust and the guardian of his three children.
The will also names singer Diana Ross as a successor guardian to 79-year-old Katherine Jackson if necessary.
The will, dated July 7, 2002, estimated his estate at that time at more than $US500 million. It gives the entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust. His former wife Debbie Rowe is cut out of the will.
The documents said Jackson's estate consisted almost entirely of 'non-cash, non-liquid assets, including primarily an interest in a catalogue of music royalty rights which is currently being administered by Sony ATV, and the interests of various entities.'
It also names Jackson's long-time lawyer John Branca and John McClain, a music executive and a family friend, as co-executors of the will.
Jackson left behind three children: son Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael, 12; daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11; and son Prince Michael II, 7. Rowe was the mother of the two oldest children; the youngest was born to a surrogate mother, who has never been identified. The children are named in the will.
In a statement, Branca and McClain said: 'The most important element of Michael's will is his unwavering desire that his mother, Katherine, become the legal guardian for his three children. As we work to carry out Michael's instructions to safeguard both the future of his children as well as the remarkable legacy he left us as an artist we ask that all matters involving his estate be handled with the dignity and the respect that Michael and his family deserve.'
Katherine Jackson was granted temporary guardianship of Jackson's three children. A judge held off on requests to control the children's estates, and gave her limited control over her son's troubled, but lucrative finances.
Rowe, who was married to Jackson in 1996 and filed for divorce three years later, surrendered her parental rights. An appeals court later found that was done in error, and Rowe and Jackson entered an out-of-court settlement in 2006.
Neither Rowe nor her lawyers have indicated whether she intends to seek custody of the two oldest children.
Michael Jackson's father, Joseph was cut out of a will drafted by the pop icon seven years ago.
As the Jackson family were granted temporary control of the singer's affairs, the Wall Street Journal reported a 2002 will divided his estate between his mother, three children and one or more charities.
However Joe Jackson, who had an uneasy relationship with his son, does not feature, the Journal report said.
A lawyer for Jackson submitted the will, which was believed to be his last, to Los Angeles Superior last Thursday, it added. The singer's parents have not seen the will, their lawyer said in a statement to the daily.
Joe Jackson, a former steelworker, raised his nine children into musical sensations. Michael Jackson said his father would beat him if he missed a note and tell him he was ugly, contributing to the tragic pop icon's fragility.
'This is where they belong,' Joe Jackson, also 79, told reporters after the decision. 'We're going to take care of them and give them the education they're supposed to have.'
Rowe, a dermatologist who met Jackson when he was under treatment, has kept a low profile since their divorce. But she appealed through her lawyers to let the children mourn their father in peace.
Rowe 'requests that Michael's family, and particularly the children, be spared such harmful, sensationalist speculation', lawyer Marta Almli said.
Another attorney expected Rowe to make a decision on her next step in the coming days.
Legal experts say that Rowe, as the biological mother, would have a strong chance to gain custody of her two children.
Joe Jackson said no funeral date would be set until results of a second autopsy on his son were complete.
The Los Angeles Times meanwhile reported that Los Angeles Police Department detectives are seeking to identify and interview 'multiple doctors' who treated Jackson in the years before his death.
Attention has so far focused on the role of Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray, who was with the star just before his death last Thursday.
Lawyers for Murray and law enforcement sources have said he is not suspected of wrongdoing and has cooperated with the investigation.
Jackson's death has sparked a worldwide outpouring of grief and tributes which continued on Tuesday with crowds gathering at New York's famous Apollo Theatre for a celebration of the star's life.
In Lagos, the Silverbird group, Thursday organised a huge concert featuring the crème of Nigerian artistes plus a good mix of enthusiastic members of the public. The event at the Silverbird Galleria was a fitting tribute to the late King of Pop. It had many Michael Jackson look-alikes. The show was a huge success. As a result of the teeming crowd, getting into the venue was as difficult as getting out of it. Some of the popular artistes who were at the venue to support the show were Tuface Idibia, RooftopMCs, Waje, Mr. Kool, Nene and MI. Each of them was requested to do a make-over of Michael Jackson.
A grandeur African Concert in honour of Michael Jackson is also being planned Lagos. It is the brainchild of the founder of the Gauranga Foundation and ex President of PMAN (Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria), Bolaji Rosiji, partnering with the foremost events group in Nigeria, Z-Mirage/ZMC and a South African group. The project is tagged "Remembering Michael Jackson" (R.E.M.I)
The Remembering Michael Jackson Concert, R.E.M.I, will be an African affair, involving most of the African foreign missions in Nigeria. Performing at the concert will be the crème de la crème of African, European and American Artistes.
On why Gauranga Foundation decided to honour the late Michael Jackson, the ex PMAN President and said 'The Gauranga Foundation shares the vision of Michael Jackson's Heal the World Foundation.
Early ratings show UK channels BBC News and Sky News saw a huge spike in their viewers within minutes confirming Michael Jackson's death at around 11.30pm BST.
Figures suggest Sky News' audience peaked with around 761,000 viewers, whereas BBC News held an estimated 606,000. Sky reported an initial surge in viewing at 11pm with their audience doubling from 203, 000 to over 400,000 and growing as the news of Jackson's death began to spread.
Meanwhile US TV networks rushed to clear schedules and add tribute programmes to both Michael and actress Farrah Fawcett, who also passed away same day after a long battle with cancer.
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