Michael Jackson's blanket of secrecy to be removed?

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  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    scout2006 wrote: »
    Can I just say Thank You" for these updates. It can't be easy putting this together.

    I do have software to turn the tweets around but sometimes making sense of the evidence is difficult...most of it is the original tweets edited hopefully to be more readable and make sense.

    I left the families and AEG's evidence long, but the experts I've tended to trim. It's interesting to note how the lawyer's will drop words into questions that has no basis in evidence, leading the jury and public to think for example 'stealing' took place.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Day 67 - Pop star was 'tapped out,' millions in debt
    William R. Ackerman, testifying as a defense witness on behalf of AEG Live in the wrongful-death trial, offered a detailed look at the singer's finances, telling jurors that Jackson spent money on donations to charity, gifts, travel, art and furniture.

    Still, he said, “consistently, his largest expenditure was interest expense. He spent a ton of money on interest.”

    Jackson's biggest expense was $30 million in annual payments on his debt when he died in 2009.

    As early as 1993, Jackson owed $30 million, a figure that grew to $140 million by 1998.

    The CPA also testified that Jackson's tours in the 1990s were not moneymakers. He said Jackson broke even on the Dangerous tour and lost $11.2 million on the HIStory tour.
  • scout2006scout2006 Posts: 7,084
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    i4u wrote: »
    With the Jackson's it's all about emotional drama, forget the evidence or facts. If the evidence isn't to their liking they blacken the name of the witness.

    I was thinking many Jackson cases follow a pattern, in this case of selecting one of the witnesses and legal team as a target. In this case it's Phillips and the lead attorney, in 2005 it was the mother and the DA prosecutor and in 1993 it was the father and his original lawyer.

    I think this case may be decided on emotion rather than evidence.


    Never let the facts get in the way of a good story :rolleyes: That seems to be the Jackson family mantra.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    During Kenny Ortega's evidence he mentioned Michael Jackson collapsing in 1995 at the Beacon Theater, New York during rehearsals for a HBO TV special.

    At the time a spokesperson for HBO said...
    ....the entertainer's personal doctor was being flown in from California --

    Which had me wondering which one!

    In July 2009 Dr. William Alleyne II who dealt with Jackson at the hospital reacalled events...
    “Mr. Jackson was in critical condition,” Alleyne said. “He was dehydrated. He had low blood pressure. He had a rapid heart rate. He was near death.”
    Alleyne, an acquaintance of Jackson's doctor at the time who had seen some of that doctor's patients, had been picked personally by that doctor to be the attending physician for Jackson's emergency care. Alleyne gave the order to have the defibrillator ready if needed to treat the abnormal heart rhythm .....

    According to the doctor Jackson's entourage, Lisa Maria Presley and Janet Jackson's entourage were all in the treatment room.
    “After a couple of days, Mr. Jackson told me he needed to get his hair done,” Alleyne remembered. “I told him we had a barber at the hospital.”

    Jackson's entourage laughed: A stylist traveled around the world with Jackson and would style those locks right there in intensive care. The makeup crew came in, too.

    Would that have been Demerol carrying Karen Faye?
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Day 67 12 Aug 2013 Jackson’s vs AEG Summary extracted from tweets by the Associated Press

    The Prequel

    AEG’s next witness is forensic accountant Stuart Ackerman who is due to testify about Jackson’s financial history and spending.

    The day began with the attorneys arguing over Ackerman’s opinions and whether he could testify. Plaintiff’s (Family) attorney Brian Panish argued that Ackerman’s testimony should be blocked because it was cumulative. Panish argued that another defence witness, Eric Briggs, had testified about Jackson's debts and Ackerman's opinion would be redundant. AEG Live’s lawyers however argued that Ackerman’s opinion was about Jackson’s financial history and spending and weren’t duplicative. There are 200,000 pages of Jackson’s financial records that form the basis of Ackerman’s opinion. Many are from the 2000s.

    The judge agreed to allow Ackerman to testify, but did tell AEG to take out certain pictures that were to be shown to the jury. Images removed included one of a BMW and the Harvard logo, things which AEG said Jackson's children might be entitled to. Also AEG had to remove an image of Carolwood that was to have been used to reflect the Jacksons’ housing.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 591
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    Milked & murdered, just like Hendrix.
  • weirlandia4evaweirlandia4eva Posts: 1,484
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    i4u wrote: »

    Did Jacksons debt die with him or is the estate still liable ??

    I would have thought that the Sony catalogue and any other valuable assets should have been sold after his death to repay at least a bit of that debt.

    To i4u just want to add my thanks for doing this. It makes fascinating reading.
  • gold2040gold2040 Posts: 3,049
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    Did Jacksons debt die with him or is the estate still liable ??

    I would have thought that the Sony catalogue and any other valuable assets should have been sold after his death to repay at least a bit of that debt.

    To i4u just want to add my thanks for doing this. It makes fascinating reading.
    A good chuck of it

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2012/11/21/michael-jacksons-personal-debts-paid-off-just-in-time-for-bad-25/

    Though
    There are still some business debts left for Jackson, namely a loan that FORBES estimates at $280 million, connected to the Sony/ATV publishing catalog.

    But the loan’s interest rate of 2.9%, negotiated down from 5.8% shortly after the singer’s death, seems innocuous enough–and perhaps necessary for continued expansion of the company, which is half-owned by Jackson’s estate.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Did Jacksons debt die with him or is the estate still liable ??

    I would have thought that the Sony catalogue and any other valuable assets should have been sold after his death to repay at least a bit of that debt.

    To i4u just want to add my thanks for doing this. It makes fascinating reading.

    He's debts remained in place, so his creditors would seek settlement from the estate. Basically he had mortgaged his assets numerous times over the years to meet interest payments which grew bigger and bigger as he borrowed more money. He was paying millions to financiers to restructure his loans and it would seem the only way they could do that was by having loans with higher interest rates...so he was chasing his own tale.

    It's not clear if the estate has cleared all the debts, but as someone else has indicated they have probably been reduced and lower interest rates obtained.

    There was a magazine article in about 2000 by Maureen Orth which fans poo poohed but a copy of letter from his accountants find at Neverland confirmed the magazine article was correct.
  • weirlandia4evaweirlandia4eva Posts: 1,484
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    thanks for the responses.

    I just find it hard to understand how people with so much money can get so deep in debt. It seems the more you earn/have the less sense you have.

    all the talk of him giving money to charity. if he was deep in debt then it wasn't really his money he was giving away but his creditors money.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    I think his ego got the better of him, the King of Pop could not be seen not booking 3-4 entire floors at 5 star hotels, could not be seen not travelling by private jet, etc.

    I blame the parents. :)
    After obtaining court papers dating back to March of 1999, "Extra" turned to Manhattan bankruptcy attorney Ralph Preite to make sense of this convoluted case.

    Michael Jackson's parents filed for bankruptcy because they were millions in debt, primarily because of a failed business venture in which they promised to bail out a troubled guitar company, but then backed out of the deal. And they were also successfully sued for millions by a South Korean company after organizing and promoting a Michael Jackson concert that never happened.

    And matters were still unresolved in 2008.
    In their initial petition, the Jacksons listed their assets in the $100,000 – $500,000 range and their estimated debts in the $10 – $50 million range.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Day 67 12 Aug 2013 Jackson’s vs AEG Summary extracted from tweets by ABC7 Court News

    Katherine Jackson was back in the courtroom today with Trent.

    AEG called a new witness on the stand, William Ackerman. Before sitting down, Ackerman laid out several large binders from 2 boxes. Sabrina Strong did direct examination of Ackerman. She asked how tall he is. The expert said he's 6' 7". Ackerman works currently at Freeman & Mills, he's been working in the accounting firm for a little over 22 years. Ackerman testified in a little over 60 cases, all as expert witness. He has worked on a handful wrongful death matters. The witness has testified on behalf of O'Melveny & Myers (the family attorneys) about a handful of times.

    Ackerman was asked by AEG to determine the amount of support the plaintiffs received and could expect to receive had Jackson lived. He said he did an extensive review of the financial information provided to him, did a financial evaluation of Jackson. Ackerman said he/his firm reviewed over 200,000 pages of documents. About 10 people in his office worked in reviewing these documents. Strong showed Ackerman a response by Arthur Erk that he had access to thousands of documents but decided to read only what he thought was pertinent, otherwise he'd spend millions of dollars. Ackerman said he reviewed all documents, didn't amount to millions of dollars. He testified his firm spent between 2800 - 3000 hours on this case. Ackerman said it probably took well over 2000 hours just to read all the documents. He spent between 650 and 700 hours alone. Ackerman's hourly rate is $475. "We submitted invoices in excess of $800,000" Ackerman testified.

    He said he doesn't know how it's possible to opine without reading all the documents. Ackerman said he looked at books and records for Michael Jackson and was asked to measure what Jackson paid to plaintiffs for support. Ackerman said it's important to share with jury that there was some doubt of Jackson’s ability to continue to provide support. "MJ's spending exceeded his income on an annual basis," Ackerman testified. "He had significant debt over time, the interest had become more and more burdensome to meet," Ackerman described.

    Ackerman focused on 2001 to June 2009 period, since the financial information was the most complete during this period. During the last decade of his life the primary source of income was Sony/ATV catalogue and his own MIJAC catalogue. Ackerman said Jackson paid $49.5 million dollars for the ATV catalogue. Jackson received $115 million over a three year period of time for the merge with Sony's catalogue in 1995. The expert said Jackson was to continue to receive $6.5 million every year for royalties and $11 million from 2008 and forward until 2014.

    Ackerman said Jackson had multiple corporations, most of his expenses were from one of his entities and not by himself as a person. Ackerman testified that sometimes the spending on a given company would be bigger than the income, would have a loss. Michael Jackson Company is the corporation that entered into an agreement with AEG.

    A chartwas shown of Jackson's Finances – Spending Exceeded Income
    2001: $17 million in income $33/34 million in expenses
    2008: $26 million in income $42 million in expenses

    Ackerman said 2002, 2003 and 2004 there were no personal expenditures record. So they were not included in the graphic. The expert said those were the years Jackson was living at Neverland Ranch. Ackerman said there were not a lot of books and records provided for the year 2007. Jackson had some sort of dispute with his business manager. Ackerman said Jackson was spending $15-20 million a year on average more than his income. Arthur Erk had $6.8 million in consumption Ackerman said in 2008 it was $41/42 million. The large expenditures was in interest. All expenses of the different businesses he had, payroll, Neverland Ranch was very expensive to maintain. Ackerman said Jackson was a generous man and donated a lot money to charity. He also gave a lot of gifts to different people at different times. Ackerman said Michael Jackson had to take on more and more debt to keep going, since income was not sufficient.

    Ackerman said from 2001/2004 the annual interest on debt was from $13 to $15 million, 2005: $20 million, 2006: $25 million, 2009: $30 million. "This is the cost to rent somebody else's money," Ackerman explained. He said the interest rate was almost 17%. Ackerman said this amount was all separated from his monthly expenses. He was close to about $400 million on long-term debt, had other debts to credit he received. Total debt is $400 and $500 million. Ackerman said he saw on documents that Jackson was as much as $30 million in debt as early as 1993.

    Strong showed chart with Jackson's outstanding debt:
    2001 -- $231 million
    2005 -- $275 million
    2006 -- $325 million
    2007 -- $400 million,

    Where the debt plateaued until his passing in 2009. Ackerman said Jackson received in Oct 1995-97 -- $150 million from Sony. But he spent $32 million in 1993, $140 million in 1998. Strong asked what that means. "He liked to spend money," Ackerman responded. The expert said he believes Dangerous tour in 1993 broke even or lost money. Ackerman said Jackson created new companies for the "HIStory" tour and he analysed the books, which showed he lost $11.2 million in tour.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Day 67 12 Aug 2013 (Part 2)

    Strong showed a chart with Jackson's Assets Securing Debt in June 2009: 50% Interest in Sony/ATV Catalog, MIJAC Catalog, Neverland, Hayvenhurst and Lindley Residences. Loan Balance - $383,500 Total: $ 398,878,414 in assets securing debt. The title of Hayvenhurst house was in Michael and LaToya's name, Ackerman said. After 2007 no debt had been incurred. "Nobody would lend him money," he said. "He was tapped out," the expert explained. He said his opinion is based on the documents he reviewed in the case. Jackson was having troubles to meet his obligations in the period of 2007-2009, as well as other periods. The Hayvenhurst residence was 3-4 months in arrears by June 2009.

    Assuming Eric Briggs testified the value of Jackson's interest in the Sony/ATV catalogue is roughly in line with debt, is consistent that Jackson was tapped out. Ackerman said the $300 million loan against the Sony/ATV catalogue was due in full in December of 2010. If not paid, Ackerman said he assumed Jackson would not receive the amount he was to receive annually for royalties. Ackerman said that, based on his review of the documents, the royalties were dedicated to repay the debt. Jackson never got paid that money from royalties, it went straight to the lender. "It was earmarked to either pay the interest of the debts or the debts themselves," Ackerman said.

    Ackerman believes lenders were getting nervous in 2006, formed bankruptcy remote trust that included Sony/ATV and MIJAC catalogues. A bankruptcy remote trust is established to protect the interest of the lender in case the borrower files for bankruptcy. Ackerman said his understanding is that the trust would protect the catalogues against other borrowers. Bankruptcy remote trust was formed in March 2006. It was called "New Horizon Trust."

    Ackerman said about Neverland, "It has become very close to foreclosure by Colony Capital in 2008."
    Colony Capital came in and replaced primary lender -- non-interest bearing loan to Jackson for $23 million. Ackerman said the mortgage at Hayvenhurst was delinquent 3-4 months and was scheduled to be foreclosed on June 26, 2009, a day after Jackson died. "He was in a very precarious financial condition," Ackerman opined. "He dug himself in pretty good hole."

    Ackerman calculated Annual Support to Plaintiffs around 2009:
    Katherine - $1,167,000
    Prince -- $785,000
    Paris -- $780,000
    Blanket -- $780,000

    Annual Support for Katherine Jackson included all expenses for Hayvenhurst, such as mortgage, staff, utility bills and food. Prince’s education at Buckley School was dearer than home tuition. Ackerman said the books and records listed out the gifts Jackson gave to Mrs. Jackson, it appears from the records the amount decreased overtime. Ackerman said he projected kids to have own cars at 16. He testified he thinks the dream car would be a convertible BMW -- $35k/year/child. Ackerman used a discount rate of 18% to put numbers in present value.

    Katherine Jackson -- Projected Support From 2009 - 2019
    Period 1 - Ending 12/31/2009 -- $557,000
    Period 11 - Ending 6/30/2019 -- $6,111,000

    Projected Support to Plaintiffs (cumulative)
    Period 1 - End 12/31/2009 -- for KJ and children -- $1,684,000
    Period 11 - End 12/31/2019 -- for Katherine and children -- $19,452,000
    Period 16 - End 12/31/2024 -- for Katherine and children -- $21,498,000
    Ackerman said Mrs. Jackson's life expectancy was 10 years from 2009. So he stopped calculating future earnings based on that. For Michael, he calculated 15 and half years of life expectancy, although he didn't offer his opinion on how long Michael would live. "He would have to have some form of income to pay those figures," Ackerman testified.

    Strong concluded her examination.

    Brian Panish did cross examination. Ackerman said he has an engagement letter with AEG for work in this case. Panish asked if he has a contract. He said yes. Attorney asked if he could bring a copy of it. O'Melveny & Myers hired Ackerman in the Cussler case, Anschutz company was one of the defendants. Asked if his firm charged over $1 million for that case, Ackerman replied he didn't know exactly, but he’d not be surprised. He explained the bill in this case of $800,000 to $825,000 was for work up until July. Ackerman said he keeps time records for the work he does. Asked if a professional way would be to itemize bills, Ackerman said, “I don't know, I know what our company does.” Ackerman estimated the bill for last month to be between $50,000-$100,000.

    Ackerman confirmed he was very critical of Arthur Erk's consumption amount for Jackson. He testified Jackson's debt increase from 2007 versus 2008 was approximately $1.5 million, and for 2008 versus 2009 showed the debt going up only a few hundred thousand dollars. Ackerman said he, himself, did not read all the documents related to the case. Asked who the officers of Michael Jackson Company were Ackerman said he knows Michael Jackson was, he could not recall if it’s a single liability company, he’d have to look it up. Ackerman told the court that Michael Jackson Company was created on Feb 8, 2007, it's a Delaware company.

    Asked if Dr. Tohme was sitting on $5 million of Michael Jackson's money in 2009. Ackerman responded he was made aware that Dr. Tohme may have been holding some money for Jackson. Ackerman was asked if he testified in his deposition that it was stated by a number of people that Dr. Tohme was incompetent and dishonest. "Some people were of that frame of mind," Ackerman answered. He agreed $5 million would've covered the entire expense at Hayvenhurst in 2009.

    Ackerman explained, that it appeared Michael was providing support, that Mrs. Jackson testified Janet was giving her $10,000 a month, so have to draw the line where life necessities is. He said, "Mr. Panish, I'm just trying to say that she was also being subsidised by her daughter." Asked if he agreed Jackson was paying for his mother's life necessities, Ackerman said Jackson was providing the bulk of the support for his mother. Ackerman said he didn’t know the standard life expectancy for Michael Jackson. Asked if he read that Jackson had 28.8 year life expectancy, there was an objection – sustained by the judge.

    Panish told the judge this is a good point to stop. He says he needs to argue with the court. Judge responded: "And you can't wait!"

    Judge adjourned the session for the day.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Facts and Figures

    Some details from Stuart Ackerman’s testimony as twittered…

    The cost of running Neverland, included the care of the animals, people on the payroll, half a million dollars in amusement rides.

    The interest rate on the loan was 16.8%,

    Jackson's Assets Securing Debt in June 2009:
    50% Interest in Sony/ATV Catalog MIJAC Catalog: $ 300,000,000,
    Neverland Residence: $ 71,509,703
    Hayvenhurst Residence: $ 23,000,000
    Lindley Residence: $ 3,985,211.
    Total in assets securing debt: $ 398,878,414.

    Annual Support for Katherine Jackson 2009
    Hayvenhurst
    Mortgage on March 2009 -- $31,513/month
    Property taxes -- 34,000/year
    Repairs and maintenance -- $111,000/year
    Homeowner insurance -- $36,000/year
    Utilities -- $64,000/year.
    Employees/independent contractors -- $252,000/year (groundkeeper, butler, housekeeper, personal assistant, driver, security man).
    Security/alarms -- $69,000/year,
    Food allowance -- $30,000/year (just for Mrs. Jackson)

    Auto/RV
    Jackson had given Mrs. Jackson a top of the line Mercedes & recreational vehicle -- $118,000/year. Travel -- $35,000/year (Family vacations for 2010 was $118,362 and 2011 was $160,471)
    Gifts -- $40,000/year.

    Prince, Paris and Blanket Annual Support Around 2009:
    Prince -- $785,000 The difference is because Prince was going to Buckley School.
    Paris – $780,000
    Blanket – $780,000
    Rent -- $1,200,000
    Butler -- $31,000
    Housekeeper – $31,000
    Chef (Kai Chase) – $128,000
    Utilities – $64,000
    Total Annual Cost -- $1,454,000 25% Allocation per child -- $364,000
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    A video report by ABC7 of William Ackerman's testimony and graphs used to show Michael Jackson was about $400m in debt when he died.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Day 68 13 Aug 2013 Jackson’s vs AEG Extracted from tweets by the Associated Press.

    The Prequel

    The Jackson family attorneys Kevin Boyle and Brian Panish argued that testimony about Jackson’s debts is prejudicial and should be stricken. AEG’s lawyers Marvin Putnam and Jessica Stebbins Bina countered it was important to this case and how much Jackson could have given to his family, “The case law is clear _ you can’t give what you don’t have,” Putnam told the judge.

    Panish kept asking AEG Live’s lawyers to provide a case that allowed them to present evidence about Jackson’s debts. Stebbins Bina eventually cited one case. That prompted the judge to ask plaintiffs for a case citation if they could find one later.

    For the time being, Judge Yvette Palazuelos overruled the plaintiff’s objections and declined to strike Ackerman’s testimony from yesterday.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Day 68 13 Aug 2013 Jackson’s vs AEG Summary extracted from tweets by ABC7 Court News and Associated Press.

    Katherine Jackson is present again in the court.

    AEG's expert witness, CPA William Ackerman, Ackerman is back on the stand for cross examination. Brian Panish, attorney for the Jacksons, doing the questioning. Ackerman said, according to the table he used to calculate Katherine Jackson’s life expectancy for a male of 50 years old it would be 29.6 years. "I can't speculate what he'd give for support" Ackerman said. "I do know he was in very precarious financial situation at the time he died. He could've been bankrupt within 6 months as far as I know," Ackerman opined. Panish asked if after bankruptcy Jackson wouldn't have debt left. Ackerman said, Jackson would not be able to provide support for his mother and children then.

    Ackerman testified Jackson received $6.2 million in advance from AEG. Panish said Jackson received $23 million in 6 months in 2009. Ackerman said it’s for the jury to decide what support Jackson would be able to provide. There was no record of Jackson's amount of donations over the years. Ackerman testified he saw on documents that Jackson was going to donate the proceeds of "Dangerous" tour to charity. Asked if he saw Jackson donated over $60 million to charity, there was an Objection which the Judge sustained. Asked if he knew anyone who donated more to charity than Jackson, Ackerman replied Bill Gates. Ackerman absolutely agreed Jackson was a very generous person. Asked if he knew anyone who thought Jackson would give the kids everything he thought important, Ackerman responded Jackson wanted his children to be humble

    Panish again raised the subject of Ackerman's fees, he wrote a on a board the Eric Briggs and Ackerman’s charges totalling $1.6m. Ackerman said he never testified in court on a wrongful death case, he worked on a handful of such cases. Ackerman doesn't recall being qualified as expert witness for plaintiffs in a wrongful death case. Ackerman testified a very small percentage of his work is in wrongful death cases. Ackerman said he reviewed a lot of trial testimony, but even more depositions in this case. Panish asked Ackerman for amount he used for the chart before he applied the 18% discount rate to bring the final number to present value. Ackerman checked his documents, said he doesn't have original numbers with him. He said the calculations need to be done in software.

    Panish showed Ackerman Formuzis analysis (Economic Damages Experts in Civil Litigation) and the calculation for personal consumption and professional fees. Formuzis used 7% discount rate. Panish asked if Ackerman used the same rate. "It's an improper rate why would I do that?" Ackerman responded. Jackson had a $320 million debt against the Sony/ATV catalogue, the highest interest rate was 16.85%. Panish asked Ackerman if he read IRS valued the catalogue at $700 million. "It would not change my conclusion, no sir," Ackerman explained. Panish said Briggs testified independent appraisal valued at Sony/ATV catalogue at $700 million: $300M on top of $400M Jackson had in debt. "I'm having a really hard time using that number," Ackerman said.

    Ackerman said MIJAC catalogue was same amount of the debts on it. He said the value is about $ 75 million. "There was no equity in that asset in June 2009," Ackerman said he read in the documents. Ackerman did not put a value on the assets Jackson had. "Liability exceeded any amount of value of the assets," Ackerman testified. Sony/ATV catalogue -- there's a value, MIJAC catalogue -- there's some value, Neverland -- there's some value. Ackerman said he didn’t know if AEG knew Jackson's financial condition when they entered into an agreement with him. Ackerman was asked if he read Randy Phillips' deposition where he said they were aware of Jackson's finances and Tom Barrack's testimony that he met with Jackson several times to straighten his financial situation. Ackerman said there was some mention to it but doesn't remember the details of the meeting.

    The court was reminded the expert’s normal hourly rate is $475. Panish showed Ackerman several bills from his firm where they researched Colony Capital and Jacksons deal. Ackerman testified Colony Capital came in when Neverland was about to be foreclosed and lent Jackson $23 million with a very high interest rate. Panish queried yesterday’s testimony that the loan had no interest, Ackerman explained it was a high interest loan but Jackson didn't have to pay it. Ackerman agreed Jackson never liquidated his assets. Panish said Jackson didn't want to liquidate his assets, instead he wanted to go back touring. Ackerman said Michael Jackson signed the contract with AEG to go back on tour.

    Panish asked where Ackerman researched Colony Capital and Jackson's deals. "There's a really interesting tool called internet, there are a lot of things you can find there," Ackerman responded. Panish asked if Jackson decided to go on tour after meeting with Tom Barrack, Ackerman said it appeared that way. Ackerman did not do any discount rate of 7, 10 or 15%, he used 18%. Asked if he prepared calculation of personal consumption for Jackson per year, Ackerman responded, ”I actually calculated something this morning.” Ackerman said the bars on the graph he showed yesterday include personal consumption. Panish asked if he came up with numbers after speaking with his attorneys yesterday. "Today is typically after yesterday," Ackerman responded. Judge struck the answer.

    Ackerman said he had a vague recollection of seeing AEG submitted a $300,000 in expense that had been accrued for the services of Dr. Murray. Panish showed Ackerman numerous passages from depositions to refresh his recollection. After Panish questioned his recollection of testimony he had read earlier, Ackerman said, “I’m not here for a memory test.” Ackerman said he believed Michael Jackson signed the agreement with AEG. He said he focused “on numbers, not process."

    Judge then broke session for lunch.
  • InspirationInspiration Posts: 62,694
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    I just find it hard to understand how people with so much money can get so deep in debt. It seems the more you earn/have the less sense you have.

    Mo Money Mo Problems. :)
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
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    Day 68 13 Aug 2013 (Part 2)

    After lunch Brian Panish continued his cross examination of William Ackerman. Arthur Erk did not include the interest rate in his calculations of consumption. Ackerman said had Erk included interest, the red bar would go much higher, since most of the expenses are interest. Panish asked if Eric Briggs said the amount for future earning for Jackson would be zero. Ackerman said he doesn't remember Briggs putting a number. "My fundamental understanding is his (Briggs) testimony is that Mr. Erk's calculations were speculative," Ackerman said. "The reality is that Mr. Jackson could lose money," Ackerman said, pointing that Jackson had debts that could offset anything he earned.

    Ackerman agreed Eric Briggs put no figure for loss of income for Jackson's life. He his opinion the children lost $21.5 millions in future support, if you were to believe Jackson would continue to give the same support as previous years. "It could be zero support too," Ackerman opined. "He was in pretty bad financial situation." Panish asked if support could've been zero. "I guess in that situation yes, it could have been zero," Ackerman responded. Panish asked, “For $1.6 million, it's your and Briggs' opinion, that Jackson's loss of future earning could be zero?” To which Ackerman replied, “That's a possibility.”

    Panish concluded his cross examination.

    Sabrina Strong for AEG did re-direct. She asked the witness if there a difference between consumption and spending. He said no. "I believe I shared multiple data points of how much Mr. Jackson spent on the last 8 years of his life," Ackerman said. The bars on the chart regarding Jackson's expenses show what he actually spent they included interest, business, personal, all that came out of Jackson's checkbook, since he was responsible for all. "He dug himself a very deep hole," Ackerman explained. "He was tapped out." Ackerman said there was very strong language in Michael Kane's (Business Manager)deposition that Michael Jackson was tapped out. "Mr. Barrack was in the frame of mind that Jackson didn't have enough income to support his spending and lifestyle," Ackerman testified.

    At the time Tohme was holding the $5 million for Jackson, Ackerman there were huge other outstanding debt for Jackson. On top of the main debts on the music catalogues and properties there were creditors debts in the amount of $100 million. "There were just no shortage of people he had to pay," Ackerman explained. "As the debt continued to grow, the interest continued to grow," Ackerman explained. He testified, “ There is a significant issue of doubt whether he (Jackson) would be able to continue to provide support. He couldn't get an increase in his $50,000 credit card limit. That's how bad it was."

    Strong asked about IRS' valuation of Sony catalogue. Ackerman said Briggs' opinion was that that asset was not that valuable. Ackerman said Briggs did valuation of Sony/ATV catalogue for tax return purposed on behalf of Jackson's Estate. Ackerman said the catalogue debt interest was 7%. This was the majority of the debt Jackson had. Ackerman explained the Sony/ATV loan was very unique in many ways. He said it was collateralised by the catalogue itself. He also said there was a bankruptcy remote trust attached to the catalogue, if asset were to be sold the proceeds would first repay debt. On top of that, Ackerman said Sony guaranteed they would pay $300 million in case everything else failed. "It was the most secured loan I've ever seen," Ackerman said. "It caused the interest rate to go way down."

    Strong asked about the bill Panish said AEG submitted to Jackson's Estate that included $300,000 for the cost of Dr. Murray's services. Ackerman read the footnote, ‘the contract is not signed by Jackson and such a signature was a condition precedent to any payment obligation.’

    Regarding necessities to live, Strong asked Ackerman if a mortgage of $35,000 a month is necessary to live. He answered no. Asked if he believed $111,000 a year in repairs and maintenance necessary to live, there was an Objection, lack of foundation. Judge sustained. Ackerman said Prince drives a Ford truck. He calculated his car to be a BMW. The expert explained his oversight only benefited the plaintiffs, since he calculated more money for support. Ackerman said Jackson would have to have enough income to service all the debts, personnel, creditors and to support to plaintiffs. "I think he'd have significant difficulty in continue to provide the support," Ackerman opined.

    Panish, in re-direct, asked if Barrack testified that, with Colony Capital help, Jackson could overcome his debts and he could become a success? Ackerman did not recall that. After reviewing Barrack's deposition, Ackerman said yes. "I think they all thought and hoped the tour would be successful," Ackerman testified.

    His recollection of what he read about Jackson's relationship with his mother and children, was it was very loving. He didn’t recall reading anywhere that Jackson denied his mother or children anything. Panish asked if Ackerman is here to help the plaintiffs. He said he's here to try to be fair. Ackerman said he came up with a very generous support numbers should the jury decide to award anything. Ackerman said at the end of Jackson's life, he had close to $30 million a year in interest, his total overall expenses was $30-45 million range. Ackerman said he doesn't think his qualified to calculate for the loss of their father, loss of care, comfort, society, affection.

    Ackerman was excused and the Judge called for the afternoon break.

    Outside the presence of the jury, there was a discussion with the attorneys whether plaintiffs (Family) have formally rested their case. Panish to tell the judge in the morning. She wants to tell the jury and put it in the record. Defendants (AEG) have filed a motion for non-suit already. Judge said she won't rule on it right away.
  • johartukjohartuk Posts: 11,320
    Forum Member
    ✭✭
    A motion for non-suit?

    Just googled it:-

    http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1289

    If the judge grants the motion, the case would be over!:eek:
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
    Forum Member
    Surely Debbie Rowe has to have her day or two in court! She's the star attraction due today. :)

    I wonder if the motion was filed as a result of Ortega's testimony.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
    Forum Member
    Day 68 13 Aug 2013 (Part 3)

    Katherine Jackson left for the day.

    AEG called their next witness via video deposition Dr Gordon Hiroshi Sasaki, who went to Yale University for his medical school, graduated in 1968. Dr. Sasaki served in Vietnam and wore several hats as doctor, including anaesthesia and plastic surgery on days off. He laughed at that last comment. Dr. Sasaki prepared a summary of all the treatment of Jackson on Feb 7, 2013. Dr. Sasaki said he did two surgeries on Jackson's scalp and 3 on the upper lip for contouring.

    Dr. Sasaki initially received a phone call from Dr. Steven Hoefflin, a well known LA plastic surgeon. Dr. Sasaki said he was asked to assist him in providing different alternatives to take care of the bald spot on Jacksons scalp. The consultation with Jackson and Dr. Hoefflin was set up, Dr. Sasazi said. The surgery in 1993 lasted about half an hour. Dr. Hoefflin was his first assistant in the surgery.

    March 16, 1993 First surgery Dr. Sasaki performed on Jackson. It was to reduce scar on the scalp, the bald spot. Dr. Sasaki said he knew generically that in 1988 Jackson had a burn in is scalp, it had healed, but Jackson wanted to reduce the scar. The scar was in the middle part of the scalp, Dr. Sasaki said. Dr. Hoefflin told him Jackson had a low threshold to pain. Dr. Hoefflin strongly suggested he managed the pain medications since he knew the patient better. Dr. Sasaki said he did the surgery but didn't see the patient until 2-3 months later, which is highly unusual. The doctor did not prescribe any medication to Jackson. Dr. Sasaki said normally a patient who undergoes that kind of surgery has pain lasting for 6 weeks.

    June 30, 1993 He had the first post op follow up at the Dr. Klein's office. He said Jackson was experiencing pain due to his work and rehearsals. He had to wear a hairpiece to camouflage the scar. Dr. Sasaki said he told Debbie Rowe that the area should be exposed to air as much as possible to heal.

    July 3, 1993 Dr. Sasaki prescribed Percocet for Jackson. It was the first time he prescribed pain medication to Jackson. Dr. Sasaki said he spoke with Dr. Klein and that Klein suggested Percocet.

    July 20, 1993 there was another request for Percocet, due to strenuous rehearsals, prescribed with the knowledge of Dr. Klein.

    Aug 10, 1993 Dr Sasaki received a phone call from Dr. Klein that Jackson was experiencing extreme pain. Doctor said pain was normal 4-6 weeks after surgery due to the nerves growing back. Dr. Sasaki suggested to Dr. Klein that Jackson be seen by a pain management specialist. "I was concerned about pain patterns and his use of Percocet," Dr. Sasaki testified. The doctor didn’t know if he was the only person prescribing Percocet to Jackson. He prescribed 45 tablets of Percocet each time. Dr. Sasaki told Dr. Klein and Jackson he would no longer prescribe Percocet to Jackson since he was asking for too much.

    Aug 15, 1993 Dr. Sasaki said he saw patient, with Debbie Rowe. He was complaining to pain in scar area, area had healed completely. Dr. Sasaki said he injected site with pain reliever, gave Demerol 100 mg, suggested Jackson to see pain specialist. Under name Omar Arnold, Dr. Sasaki prescribed Demerol to Jackson, this was the first and last time. Dr. Sasaki said Jackson was the only patient he injected with Demerol. Dr. Sasaki explained Demerol is for acute pain, not chronic pain, following major surgery. He does not do the kind of surgery that requires that kind of pain medication. Dr Sasaki testified he is not familiar with Jackson's announcement in 1993 about being dependent on prescription medication. "I'm totally ignorant regarding that," Dr. Sasaki said.

    Jackson invited Dr. Sasaki and his family to Neverland, Michael was not there. The staff served them lunch and showed them around. Dr. Sasaki visited Neverland Ranch twice, once with his family and once at Jackson’s request. Dr. Sasaki thinks Jackson just wanted to have him look at his wound, which was healing quite well. "More than talking about him, we talked about the Bible," Dr. Sasaki said. He was there for medical purposes, though. The visits may have been 5 years apart.

    October 31, 1997 Second surgery was for scar revision to reduce the width of the reduced scar on the scalp. The medical care, which included post operation and pain management, were taken out of Dr. Sasaki hands willingly. The care was placed into two other doctors that Mr. Jackson thought would be the best, the other two doctors were Steven Hoefflin and Arnold Klein. At some point Dr. Metzger as well, he said.

    May 1998 was last time Dr. Sasaki saw and spoke with Jackson. He knew doctors Hoefflin, Klein and Metzger treated Jackson back then.


    That ended the video deposition and the day’s court session.

    Debbie Rowe is expected to take the stand next.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
    Forum Member
    Day 69 - Jackson's ex-wife testifies about his fear of pain, early report of Debbie Rowe's emotional testimony...from Associated Press.

    Michael Jackson's ex-wife broke into tears on Wednesday when she took the witness stand in a civil case and described the singer's fear of pain and trust of physicians.

    Debbie Rowe said the pop star trusted doctors to prescribe pain medication to him, but they sometimes tried to outdo each other while losing sight of Jackson's care.

    "Michael had a very low pain tolerance and his fear of pain was incredible," Rowe said. "I think the doctors took advantage of him that way."
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
    Forum Member
    Day 69 - ABC7's report of Debbie Rowe's testimony.

    It took a subpoena to bring Rowe, mother to Prince and Paris Jackson, to court to testify for the defense. Prosecutors questioned Rowe about Jackson's drug use when they were a couple. AEG attorneys want to show that Jackson had drug problems as far back as the early 1990s.

    Rowe was a nurse assistant to dermatologist Arnold Klein, who she said provided the painkiller Demerol and Propofol for many of the hundreds of treatments Jackson received over 20 years.
  • i4ui4u Posts: 54,809
    Forum Member
    Day 69 14 Aug 2013 Jackson’s vs AEG Extracted from tweets by the Associated Press.

    Debbie Rowe former wife of Michael Jackson and mother of two of his children, was subpoenaed to appear in court. Marvin S Putnam for AEG questioned Rowe, she asked him to get her testimony done today. She explained that she lives 60 miles away and it was a tough commute. “I sat at a light for 20 minutes. How do you people do it?” When Putnam asked if she did anything to prepare for her testimony, Rowe quipped, “Took a shower.” She hadn’t read her deposition to prepare giving her testimony.

    She studied to be an Emergency Medical Technician, then went to work with Klein in late 70s. Rowe repeatedly told Putnam and the jury that she was bad with dates and wouldn't be able to recall them exactly. Putnam asked Rowe a question about Klein’s prominence. “He is a legend in his own mind,” Rowe replied. Rowe stopped working for Klein in 1996 or ’97 _ she couldn’t remember when. She said Jackson pushed her to return to college. She ended up going back to school and got a BS in psychology. She then started a horse breeding program in Palmdale.

    Rowe described her first meeting with Jackson, which came outside regular business hours when she wanted to spend time with her nieces. Rowe said she told Jackson that they were both at the top of their fields, and said it’d be nice if he came to the office during regular hours. She said she was very casual with patients. “Dr. Klein would call me probably the least professional assistant he had,” Rowe said. They met in ’82 or ’84, and the singer started coming into the office more after he was diagnosed with lupus, she said. She and Jackson sparked up a friendship, speaking on the phone often and eventually seeing each other outside the office.

    Rowe described various treatments that Jackson got over the years, including botox and collagen injections for acne scars. She started to break down when she began to describe how Jackson viewed doctors. “Michael respected doctors immensely,” she said. “Unfortunately, some of the doctors decided,” Rowe said, pausing to wipe away tears, “that when Michael was in pain ...”
    “...that they would try to outbid each other on who could get the better drug. And so he listened to the doctors.” At this point, Katherine Jackson was leaning forward in her seat. Rowe said she was caught in the middle of Dr. Arnold Klein and Dr. Steven Hoefflin’s conflicting treatments of Jackson.

    She reached out to Jackson’s general doctor, Allan Metzger. “I needed one person to talk to me and I chose Metzger,” she said. Rowe said that Hoefflin told her that there were times he gave Jackson anesthesia, but performed no medical procedures. Rowe said the need to manage Jackson’s pain medications became necessary after he had scalp surgery in 1993. When Klein performed a procedure, Jackson was often awake within an hour. At Hoefflin’s, he might be in recovery for 6+ hours, she said. She wasn’t sure precisely which anesthetic drugs were being used at Hoefflin’s office, but some propofol was involved.

    Jackson had called Klein after taking the medication and was unintelligible. Klein sent Rowe to take care of Jackson at a hotel in Universal City “He was heavily under the influence of whatever Hoefflin had given him,” Rowe said. She said she confiscated a bottle of Dilaudid. Rowe told Jackson, “I said I’m taking these, you’re (effed) up,” Rowe said. She apologized for the bad language. Rowe said she unplugged all the phones in the room, since Jackson liked to talk on the phone and she didn’t want him to call anyone else. She stayed the rest of the night in the hotel suite to make sure Jackson was OK.

    She would also live with him after the scalp surgery. Rowe said she got concerned with Jackson’s Demerol usage after the surgery, and worked with Metzger to wean him off of it. Rowe said she lowered his doses without letting Klein know and worked with Metzger to institute a plan to get Jackson off Demerol. She said it was working until Jackson abruptly left to go on another leg of the “Dangerous” tour. Rowe returned to Jackson’s condo one day and all his stuff with gone. His assistant said Jackson had left to go on tour. She said Metzger then told her to deliver Jackson’s medications and his treatment plan to a Dr. Forecast, who was going on the tour with Jackson. Rowe said Forecast didn’t listen to her while she tried to describe the treatment plan.

    She later learned that “the first thing” Forecast did was give Jackson Demerol on the tour. That led to more problems. Rowe said she saw Jackson in Mexico City when he went there for the “Dangerous” tour. He was messy and wouldn't make eye contact. She tried to confront Dr. Forecast, but she wasn't allowed to see him. She didn't remember who blocked that effort. “You can’t go looking and acting like this,” Rowe said she told Jackson. She said she told him he couldn't continue on the tour. “You need to straighten up, you need to face whatever it is that’s going on.” Jackson agreed with her and went to rehab.

    Rowe said she blamed Forecast for the issues. She said Jackson often couldn't see who was hurting him. “He foolishly, foolishly, trusted a lot of people,” Rowe said of Jackson. Katherine nodded her head in agreement. After rehab, Rowe said Jackson was much improved. Rowe said Metzger arranged for two doctors to give Jackson the anesthetic propofol in Germany in 1997 when he complained that he couldn't sleep during his "HIStory" tour. On two occasions, the doctors brought medical equipment to Jackson's hotel suite and monitored the singer while he was under the effect of the anesthetic for eight hours. The doctors warned Jackson about the dangers of using propofol, but Rowe said he disregarded the information. "He was just more worried about not sleeping," she said.

    Putnam asked Rowe about the last time she saw Michael Jackson. She said it was in around 2003, when Paris was 4 years old. The lawyer ended his direct examination.

    The plaintiff’s attorney Deborah Chang took over on cross-examination. She only had about 15 minutes to ask questions before the court adjourned for the day. Rowe said she hung up on Mrs. Jackson’s assistant and only came to court because she received a subpoena. Chang asked about Rowe re-establishing contact with Paris this year. Rowe said she had, but she never discussed the case with her. Chang wanted to show jurors a slide that displayed vitiligo, the skin condition that Jackson had. AEG objected and there was a sidebar. By the point the lawyers returned, it was almost time to adjourn, so Chang said she’d slow the slide in the morning.
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