LOS ANGELES : A Los Angeles judge on Tuesday dismissed a bid by Michael Jackson's father to challenge the two businessmen appointed executors of the pop icon's estate.
Judge Mitchell Beckloff said Joe Jackson, 81, had no basis to challenge the appointment of administrators John Branca and John McClain because he had been excluded from his son's will.
"Mr Jackson takes nothing under this estate," Beckloff said. "That was a decision his son made. I don't see how he's affected by the appointment of Branca or McClain as executors."
Beckloff noted that although Joe Jackson had claimed entitlement to a family allowance, he had been excluded from assets from his son's estate in a 2002 will and the family trust set up after his death at age 50.
Lawyer Brian Oxman had argued Joe Jackson had grounds to challenge the ppointments of Branca and McClain and that the only fair way for his client to have his case made was through a full hearing.
"It will shock you, it will shock anyone who looks at it," Oxman said of the evidence he wanted to present against Branca and McClain.
Oxman also criticised the singer's mother, Katherine Jackson, and her new attorney, Adam Streisand, for dropping her own objections to the appointment of McClain and Branca.
"She has struck some kind of deal now with the executors and administrators as far as we can tell," Oxman said. "She has reneged on her obligation to her family."
Meanwhile, Beckloff made public details of Michael Jackson's funeral, in September, with documents revealing that nearly one million dollars was spent on the singer's send off.
Jackson died on June 25 at his rented mansion in Los Angeles after an accidental overdose of powerful prescription drugs.
- AFP/il
Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:49 am