He just bought it like that

Posted on Author Ron Coleman 2
Written by: Ron Coleman

Impulse buying, King of Pop style:

Branca had a surprise for Jackson. The attorney said casually, ‘By the way, the ATV catalogue is available.’ Jackson looked puzzled. Branca added teasingly, ‘It includes a few things you might be interested in.’ ‘Like what?’ Jackson asked. ‘Northern Songs,’ Branca replied. Jackson recognized that name. ‘You mean the Northern Songs?’ ‘Yeah, Mike . . . the Beatles.’ Jackson did a full turn, jumped in the air and shrieked. ‘But wait,’ Branca warned. ‘Other people are also after the catalogue. It’s going to be a struggle.’ Jackson replied, ‘I don’t care. I want it . . . please.

From the LA Times, via BITTER LAWYER, which has a feature on “those JDs who kept the King of Pop out of trouble—and in some cases—out of prison.”:

“Two child-molestation investigations (no convictions), two divorces, myriad civil lawsuits over concerts, special performances and soured business deals, near-bankruptcy and the threatened foreclosure of his Neverland ranch kept teams of lawyers busy.” [CNN]

Plus, the possibly that Michael didn’t leave behind a will is enough to ensure many embittered legal battles are left to ensue.  .  .  .

Unfortunately, nailing down who did (and did not) represent Jackson isn’t easy. Over the years, he hired and fired enough lawyers to staff a medium-sized law firm. So consider this Michael Jackson’s greatest legal hits.

Should be a fun read, if you’re into the legal-personality thing.

Quite ironic, by the way, about Michael Jackson owning the Northern Songs catalogue — if you’ve ever read the lyrics to Only a Northern Song, which include:

It doesn’t really matter what clothes I wear
Or how I fare or if my hair is brown
When it’s only a Northern song.

If you think the harmony
Is a little dark and out of key
You’re correct, Is nobody there
and I told you is no one there

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Ron Coleman

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2 Replies to “He just bought it like that”

  1. The quotation from Publisher’s Weekly seems to concern the temporary restraining order, not the preliminary injunction decision. Judge Batts did rule on the fair use defense and rejected it in granting the preliminary injunction.

  2. OK, rub it in, John. Why stop at putting this comment into two posts? Why not 20? Now I know why you didn’t permit comments until like last week.

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