Michael Jackson's Family Sues Touring Company For His Death

from the finger-pointing dept

Sooner or later someone was going to get sued, but it does seem a bit surprising to find out that Michael Jackson's family is now suing AEG, the concert promotions company, for Jackson's death.

"By the nature of their contractual, joint-venture, and special relationship, AEG had legal duties to Michael Jackson to treat him safely and to not put him in harms' way," the lawsuit alleges. "But AEG, despite its knowledge of Michael Jackson's physical condition, breached those duties by putting its desire for massive profits from the tour over the health and safety of Michael Jackson."

The main issue is that the doctor who treated Jackson was apparently pushed on Jackson by AEG. This seems like a longshot no matter how you look at it. Even if there was negligence somewhere in Jackson's treatment, going so far as to sue the concert promoter for recommending the doctor seems extreme.

Filed Under: blame, michael jackson
Companies: aeg

Music Festival Producer Pre-Sues Bootleggers

from the minority-report dept

Ah, pre-crime. THREsq has a worrisome story of a couple of recent lawsuits by concert producers pre-suing potential bootleggers claiming trademark infringement. Yes, they're claiming trademark infringement for something that hasn't happened yet, and simply listing out hundreds of John Doe and Jane Does who can later be filled in. As a part of this, they're getting law enforcement involved by using the lawsuit to ask the court to order US Marshalls, local and state police and even off-duty officers to go ahead and seize and impound the bootlegged material.

It's really quite something to read the lawsuit which refers to possible events happening in the future: The article notes that it seems unlikely that any defendants will show up in court to defend themselves or to protest the lawsuit, since they haven't done anything yet. So, basically, the lawsuit is allowed because there's no one to contest it, because who's going to contest such a lawsuit? THREsq reasonably points out how troubling this trend is:

The threat of bootleggers is real, of course, but it's based purely on speculation, without evidence of the kind of past specific misconduct that might trigger temporary remedies as seen in criminal proceedings. That seems odd, and perhaps a slippery slope. Why can't any company in America file John Doe trademark action and get police to seize goods they believe will be infringing? What stops this beyond the concert venue?

Filed Under: bootlegging, concerts, pre-suing, trademark
Companies: aeg