Paris Jackson just scored a major legal win!
In March, Michael Jackson’s eldest daughter took John Branca and John McClain, executors of the King of Pop’s estate, to court over MASSIVE unauthorized bonus payments to third-party law firms that worked for the estate. She raised her eyebrows over the legitimacy of said bonuses, with her lawyer arguing “irregular payments raise serious and substantial questions about Executors’ ability to effectively supervise counsel.” The legal eagle further questioned the “wasteful, six-figure gift-giving to themselves and their colleagues,” while Paris argued in legal docs:
“The present records suggest a group of closely-knit, highly-compensated lawyers is exploiting Executors’ lack of oversight to skim money from the Estate, in plain view.”
And now a judge has ruled in the 28-year-old’s favor!
On Monday, TMZ reported that an El Lay judge ordered $625K in bonuses to be PAID BACK to the estate! That’s a lot of dough!!!
Branca and McClain had previously argued the expenditure was common practice in the industry and argued that while money had been spent, they also earned the estate a ton of cash through various deals.
During the judge’s decision, they acknowledged the executors’ business prowess, which generated “real and substantial generational wealth,” for MJ’s kids, but ruled the $625k was never approved and needed to be returned. A spokesperson for the executors has since addressed the ruling in a statement:
“We are gratified that the Court itself recognized and praised the work of the Executors and its outside counsel in today’s decision. While the Court has previously approved several other bonuses to outside counsel over the years for their extraordinary services, and this was the first time they were the subject of objections, the Executors have always understood that legal fees are subject to court approval and have always required outside counsel to agree to return any funds to the estate if the payments were not approved.”
They concluded:
“Ultimately, while we disagree with the decision, we fully respect it and plan to move forward accordingly.”
A spokesperson for Paris later offered a statement of their own:
“Paris has always been focused on what’s best for her family and this ruling is a massive win for them. After years of delay, the Jackson family will finally get the transparency and accountability measures Paris has fought for. The Jackson Estate is supposed to be a prudent, fiscally responsible entity that supports the Jackson family — not a slush fund to help John Branca live out his Hollywood mogul fantasies. After months of engaging in sexist, scorched-earth tactics against a beneficiary, it’s time for John Branca to acknowledge his many missteps and act in the best interest of the family he has a fiduciary duty to protect.”
Fierce!
What are your reactions, Perezcious readers??
[Images via David Livingston/MEGA/WENN]
