A California appeals court overturned a $9.4 million judgement that would require Michael Jackson’s estate to pay music producer Quincy Jones for royalties.
Jones, 87, claimed that the producers agreement contracts he held with the late superstar would pay him for music he produced after the singer’s death in 2009. In addition, he would obtain a 10% producers fee, along with master licensing for Jackson’s last documentary This Is It.
The California Court of Appeal reversed the decision to award Jones $9.4 million and returned the case to the trial court for amendment. The action was due to the Court finding that the contract in the middle of the litigation was misinterpreted by the jury causing the judgement to fall in Jones’ favor.
The Court maintains that the interpretation of the contract should have been executed by the judge, not the jury.
“Interpretation of the Producer Agreements was solely a judicial function, yet the trial court allowed the jury to perform that function and ultimately misinterpret the relevant terms,” ruled the Court of Appeals. “The (agreements) provided Jones with nothing more than a right to receive payments correlating to a 10% basic royalty rate.”
In turn, Jones will receive no more than $2.6 million in license fees and interest for his contributions to This Is It.
“We knew the verdict was wrong when we heard it, and the court of appeal has completely vindicated us,” said Howard Weitzman, lawyer for the Jackson estate. “From the beginning this was an attempt to take advantage of Michael knowing he wasn’t here to defend himself.”
