Refiled

The late Michael Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, has refiled a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr Conrad Murray who is charged over his son's death.

Joe Jackson has also added the Las Vegas pharmacy that sold Dr Murray the anaesthetic blamed for the death to the law suit.

Judge Nixes Joe's Death Suit

US District Judge John F. Walter has refused to hear the wrongful death lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson's father (Joe), and noted that Joe would not be likely to collect tens of millions of dollars in damages.

The case will be refiled in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Jackson Tops The Rich List

The late Michael Jackson has come top of the Forbes' Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list.

He earned $275M last year, more than the other 12 dead celebrities on the list combined. Additionally, Jackson has out earned all living "celebrities" with the exception of Oprah Winfrey.

The question is, what possible use is all this money to him now?

Money, Money, Money

The media reports that Joe Jackson (the late Michael Jackson's father) is seeking between $10M-$500M from Dr Conrad Murray via a wrongful death lawsuit.

Will that money bring Jackson's son back?

Another Day, Another Lawsuit

Now, in death, the late Michael Jackson has become a wealthy man again he (or rather his estate's money) is much in demand.

Dr Tohme Tohme, Michael Jackson's last business manager, has filed a lawsuit in LA seeking at least $2.3M from Jackson's estate.

He claims that he is entitled to revenue from various posthumous deals, including last year's "This Is It" documentary.

The case is scheduled for a court hearing on 7 October.

As ever, the legal profession is making a very comfortable living out of all of this.

More Money

The media report that Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson's mother, has asked the court to increase her monthly allowance of $26K from the late Michael Jackson's estate.

Apparently she is having trouble making ends meet.

Prince and Paris To Bear Witness?

The media report that Dr Conrad Murray's defence team are considering calling Paris and Prince (two of the late Michael Jackson's children) to testify at Dr Murray's manslaughter trial.

The "game plan", according to the media, being that the defence will argue that Jackson was already an addict, and that the children will testify that they often saw their father "under the influence".

I am not quite sure how claiming that Jackson was already addicted helps Dr Murray.

Katherine Jackson Sues AEG

The late Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, is suing AEG Live group (the organisers of the London concert that Jackson was preparing for).

Mrs Jackson accuses AEG of negligence, breach of contract and fraud, and of putting the prospect of "massive profits" ahead of her son's health and safety.

As to whether this, or any of the other lawsuits etc flying around, actually gets anywhere who knows?

However, one thing is for sure, the legal profession is making a very nice living out of the late Michael Jackson and his legacy.

Preliminary Hearing

Dr Conrad Murray, the doctor to the late Michael Jackson who is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter over his death, will face a preliminary hearing scheduled for January 4 2011.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor will hear evidence from the prosecutors, then decide whether to send Murray to full trial.

$300M Lawsuit Dismissed

US District Judge Harold Baer Jr. has dismissed a $300M lawsuit by AllGood Entertainment Inc, a concert promoter, against the late Michael Jackson over a failed reunion concert.

Judge Baer cited a lack of evidence that the Jackson or his family were under a binding agreement to perform at a reunion concert.

AllGood Entertainment Inc originally sued Jackson for $40M on June 10 2009, before Jackson died, they then later filed a creditor's claim with Jackson's estate, claiming the potential value of the lawsuit was at least $300M.

Inflation or what?

Jackson's Last Home On The Market

The late Michael Jackson's last home, a French chateau-style estate he was leasing in Holmby Hills (Beverly Hills), has come on the market at $28,995,000.

It has:

- 7 bedrooms,
- 13 bathrooms,
- 12 fireplaces,
- a theatre,
- a wine cellar and tasting room,
- an art studio,
- a lift,
- a gym with a spa,
- a swimming pool,
- and 1.26 acres of grounds.

Seven Doctors Cleared

US investigators have said that seven doctors who treated Michael Jackson, in the years before his death, will not face criminal charges.

However, Jackson's personal doctor Conrad Murray, who denies involuntary manslaughter, is not one of those seven.

Happenstance

Now that the late Michael Jackson is "in the money", it is "coincidental" to see that there are numerous people/organisations all making a claim for a portion of that money.

By happenstance Mocienne Petit Jackson has filed documents with L.A. County Superior Court, claiming that her mother Barbara (sister to Diana Ross) was impregnated by Jackson when he was 17.

She goes on to claim that when she was 9, Jackson's mother had her abducted and sent to Belgium. The 7 abductors were then allegedly murdered.

Well now!

Fans Vadalise Jackson's Tomb

Fans of the late Michael Jackson have defaced his mausoleum with messages written in indelible ink, expressing how much they miss him.

The misguided fans may consider this to be a "tribute". However, in reality, it is vandalism; and will ensure that access to the site is restricted, even for those who are not vandals.

Bubbles Adopted For a Year

The future of Bubbles, at least for the next year, has been assured.

Merrick Watts, Scott Dooley and Ricki-Lee Coulter (Sydney based Nova 969 radio hosts) have paid $10K to be the chimp's parents for a year.

Certainly this is a far more realistic proposal than the current story pushed by the media, that Michael Jackson wanted Bubbles to be able to speak.

What About Bubbles?

Those of you who are worried about the well being of Michael Jackson's ex companion, Bubbles the chimp, need not fret too much and indeed have the opportunity to help support him.

The chimpanzee lives at the Wauchula Center for Great Apes. The sanctuary is looking for help to pay for the $15K annual fee for looking after Bubbles.

For $150 a year the sanctuary will send a 8x10 photo, and offer a personal day at the sanctuary's annual open house.

Spam Warning

Fraudsters and spammers are again targeting Michael Jackson fans.

Internet security firm Symantec has identified a malicious spam campaign that is designed to fool fans into parting with personal information and cash, for products that they will never receive.

The main product being being pushed by the scam emails is a commemorative coin that features Jackson's face engraved on one side.

You have been warned!

Katherine Jackson Sued

Katherine Jackson (the late Michael Jackson's mother) is reportedly being sued for $13M by The Segye Times (a South Korean newspaper), for the alleged costs of a cancelled tour.

The Segye Times has filed papers with Michael Jackson's estate, informing the court it has a judgement dating back to 1994 against Mrs Jackson for $4M.

The newspaper alleges it advanced Mrs Jackson, husband Joe and son Jermaine $5.5M for a series of Jackson family concerts which never took place. The interest element makes the total $13M.

Coincidentally Katherine's the late son Michael is now "in the money", reportedly earning $1BN since he died.

Amazing how many debts are "remembered" when there is a "sniff" of money in the air.

The Gloves Are Off

A crystal studded glove belonging to the late Michael Jackson was sold this weekend at Julien's Auctions at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas auction for $190K.

Meanwhile, Joe Jackson has filed a lawsuit against Dr Conrad Murray for unlawful death.

Slurs and Allegations?

The BBC report that LaToya Jackson is claiming that Michael Jackson was murdered, because he was "worth so much more dead than alive".

In other news the media state that Joe Jackson has alleged that Dr Conrad Murray was drinking in a strip club the night before Jackson died, Dr Murray denies this allegation.

Joe Jackson Sues AEG

Joe Jackson (the late Michael Jackson's father) is suing AEG Live the concert promoter.

Jackson accuses AEG of engaging in the "unlawful practice of corporate medicine," and alleges that they paid Dr Conrad Murray (Michael Jackson's doctor) to provide dangerous medical services.

Case For Dr Murray's Suspension Dismissed

Judge Michael Pastor has ruled in the case, brought by California's Attorney General, to suspend Dr Conrad Murray (the late Michael Jackson's doctor) from practising in California whilst he awaits trial.

He has rejected the case, stating that the matter had already been ruled on by a previous judge:

"I do not have the ability to revisit a ruling by one of my colleagues".

Request To Suspend Murray

Medical authorities in California have again asked a judge to suspend the licence of Dr Conrad Murray, who is facing charges relating to the death a year ago of Michael Jackson.

The state attorney general's office argues that the current ban on Dr Murray using anaesthetics is insufficient.

$1BN Earned

Reports state that the late Michael Jackson's estate has earned approximately $1BN since he died last year.

Belt Up

Something of a furore appears to have developed over the merchandising of "Michael Jackson belts" ($1500 each), signed by various members of his family.

TMZ quote Jackson's lawyer Howard Weitzman, claimed not to have heard of the belts and that the executors never authorised the sale.

"The Trustees of the Estate of Michael Jackson did not authorise the making or the sale of the Michael Jackson Tribute Belts."

Adding

"We would never condone the use of Michael's children's signatures to promote the sale of merchandise."

The lesson to be learned here is that it is always wise to be 100% certain that you have the right to sell something, before you go ahead and sell it.

Just How Sick Are Some People?

There are lurid rumours circulating in the media that certain less than scrupulous persons/organisations are proactively trying to source the late Michael Jackson's autopsy pictures (currently securely held by the authorities in Los Angeles).

Doubtless the would-be procurers of these pictures see vast sums of money to be made out of such a repulsive acquisition.

Idiotic Rumour

Contributors to a website (and the clue is in the title) called michaeljacksonhoaxforum.com claim that the late Michael Jackson is still alive and masquerading as his friend Dave Dave.

Well now we have heard it all!

Were this rumour to be correct, Jackson's current revenue stream (flowing into his estate) would drop like a stone; therefore it is in his financial interests to remain dead.

Suffice to say, the website that makes these claims is receiving a million hits a day.

Nanny's Back

Good morning loyal readers!

Doubtless many of you have been wondering where this site went to over the last couple of days, indeed I have received a number of worried emails from some of you expressing concerns about the site's unexpected disappearance from cyberspace.

Well, here we are again, I will now relate to you what happened.

Google's (the owner of Blogger) spam bots claimed that Nanny Knows Best was a spam blog and, believing in the principle of shooting first and asking questions later (instead of the more sensible reverse policy), disabled it and asked me to prove it wasn't spam.

Wouldn't it have been more sensible to ask me first if it was spam, and to say if I don't come back in 3 days or so they will then disable the site?

Having deactivated the site without any warning, I was told by Google that I would have to wait several days for them to reactivate it:

"Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What is a spam blog?) Since you are an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy and we sincerely apologise for this false positive.

We received your unlock request on 09 May 2010. On behalf of the robots, we apologise for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam."

I decided that being asked to wait for such a long period of time was not very satisfactory, given that this site has been going for many years and has a real human following etc. Therefore I enlisted your help and asked (via my other sites) for people to drop Google a note prodding them about this.

Oddly enough, for a leading 21st century web company, Google is rather hard to contact directly via email.

Nonetheless I found a number of access points:

press-uk@google.com

- Phone: +44 (0)20-7031-3000
- Fax: +44 (0)20-7031-3001

I also faxed the CEO (Eric Schmidt) in the USA (+1 650-253-0001) about it. Oddly enough, within an hour or so of faxing, the site reappeared as if by magic.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you who wrote in, and helped restore this site.

It is ironic that NKB was shut down, as it campaigns against censorship etc.

To add further irony to the story, my HMRC site (www.hmrcisshite.com) which is also on Google was also temporarily out of action on Sunday. However, it restored itself within a few hours.

However, what was really odd was that my gmail account (another Google product) was disabled by Google on Sunday. They asked me to email them my mobile phone number in order for them to send me a reactivation code.

Is Google trying to tell me something?

Once again many thanks for your support and help during this period of stupidity by Google.

Nanny Knows Best

Off topic, but I would appreciate help from those of you who also read "Nanny Knows Best".

Google's spam bots claim that Nanny Knows Best is spam and have temporarily disabled it.

I now have to wait several days for them to reactivate it:

"Blogger's spam-prevention robots have detected that your blog has characteristics of a spam blog. (What is a spam blog?) Since you are an actual person reading this, your blog is probably not a spam blog. Automated spam detection is inherently fuzzy and we sincerely apologise for this false positive.

We received your unlock request on 09 May 2010. On behalf of the robots, we apologise for locking your non-spam blog. Please be patient while we take a look at your blog and verify that it is not spam."

If you can find time to drop Google a note prodding them about this, it would be much appreciated.

press-uk@google.com

Phone: +44 (0)20-7031-3000
Fax: +44 (0)20-7031-3001

It is ironic as NKB campaigns against censorship etc, and indeed (oddly enough) my HMRC site was also down yesterday for a few hours plus my Gmail account (which needed me to reactivate it by sending in my mobile phone number for a special code).

Is Google trying to tell me something?

Thanks

Ken

Jackson's Estate Rejects Creditors

The trustees of the late Michael Jackson's estate are standing up to creditors. They have rejected 7 claims made by a variety of people/organisations.

Jackson's Wives To testify

Michael Jackson's ex wives, Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, are scheduled to testify in court in the ongoing trial where Dr Conrad Murray is facing charges of manslaughter.

They are expected to support the defence's contention that Jackson slept with his eyes open.

Dr Conrad Murray Appears in Court

Dr Conrad Murray, the late Michael Jackson's doctor, has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter at a procedural hearing in Los Angeles.

Judge Michael Pastor will hear the case 14 June, when he is expected to rule on whether to revoke Dr Murray's medical licence pending a full trial.

According to media reports, Dr Murray's legal team is to argue that Jackson accidentally killed himself by injecting himself with Propofol.

Joe Jackson Sues Conrad Murray

Joe Jackson has told the media that he intends to bring a case against Dr Conrad Murray (the late Michael Jackson's doctor) for wrongful death.

Joe Jackson's legal action will be be a civil case, the purpose of which would be to win monetary damages against Dr Murray.

Push For Suspension

Edmund Brown, California's attorney general, has filed a petition requesting that Dr Conrad Murray (the late Michael Jackson's doctor) should have his medical licence restricted while he faces involuntary manslaughter charges.

The petition accuses Dr Murray of "poor professional judgment and placing the life of a patient in jeopardy".

Insufficient Information

The media have leaked details of the Emergency Service Medical Report, that alleges that Dr Conrad Murray (Michael Jackson's doctor) failed to tell paramedics at the scene of Jackson's collapse that he had administered propofol to Jackson.

Largest Recording Deal In History

In an ironic twist, Michael Jackson is making more dead than when he was alive.

Jackson's estate has reportedly signed a contract with Sony Music worth approximately $200M - $250M, depending on which news organisation is reporting it.

The deal, seemingly the largest in history, involves 10 album projects over seven years (including one of previously unreleased material).

Sick

It is reported that the syringe that allegedly administered a fatal dose of drugs to Michael Jackson has been obtained by an unknown individual.

He is now allegedly touting this "artifact" round Las Vegas auction houses, in the hopes of arranging an auction from which he will pocket $5M.

Quite how this person has been able to obtain potential "evidence", and why he is allowed to profit from it is one thing.

As to what idiot would pay $5M for a used syringe is another.

Another Day, Another Law Suit

It is reported that Venable LLP, a US law firm, is suing Michael Jackson's estate for $471K in relation to alleged unpaid fees for legal advice on a "broad spectrum of matters" from September 2006 to June 2009.

Rowe Wins Judgement

Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson's ex wife, has been awarded $27K against Rebecca White who claimed in interviews after Jackson's death that Rowe was only interested in getting money from Jackson's family and wasn't interested in gaining custody of her two children.

Rowe sued White (originally for $500K), White never answered the complaint.

Timeline Changed

The media reports that Dr Conrad Murray (Michael Jackson's doctor) has changed his story of events leading up to Jackson's death.

Murray first told the authorities that he administered propofol to Jackson at 10.50am, before leaving the room for several minutes to visit the toilet.

After unsuccessfully attempting to revive Jackson, it is thought that Murray did not call emergency services until 12.21pm.

Speculation is that Murray will admit that he failed to check on Jackson two minutes after giving him the medication.

Voicemail Leaked

A voicemail made by Dr Conrad Murray (Michael Jackson's doctor) in the final minutes of Jackson's life has been leaked to the media.

In it Dr Murray is heard calmly calling another patient, and saying:

"This is Doctor Murray, Bob. Hi, how are you? Sorry I missed you. Just wanted to talk to you about your results of the EECP.

You did quite well on the study. We would love to continue to see you as a patient even though I may have to be absent from my practice for, uh, because of an overseas sabbatical."

As to whether the calmness displayed is good or bad for Murray as he faces trial, depends very much on whether you are viewing it from the perspective of the defence or prosecution.

Dr Conrad Murray Charged

Dr Conrad Murray, Michael Jackson's former doctor, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over the death of Jackson.

Dr Murray has denied the charge, a judge must now decide whether to proceed to trial.

If convicted he could go to jail for up to four years.

Joe Jackson is having none of it, and later told Larry King:

"I don't like those charges. He (Murray) got off too easy in court. Justice, to me, would be the murder charge.

I'm looking for justice for my son. For me he's just the fall guy. There's other people, I think, involved with this whole thing. I think if he's (Murray) interrogated, he would come clean and tell everything he knows."

Already Judged

Dr Conrad Murray's lawyers have said they expect a single charge of involuntary manslaughter against their client, wrt the death of Michael Jackson.

Despite delays last week, it is expected that Dr Murray will surrender to police this week.

In the minds of some of Jackson's more "excitable" fans (who have mounted a campaign for Murray to be arrested with handcuffs) the Doctor has already been tried, and found guilty.

Murray Not To Surrender To Police

Contrary to reports yesterday, it seems that the late Michael Jackson's doctor (Dr Conrad Murray) will not surrender to police today.

It seems that there has been a breakdown in negotiations between prosecutors and police over whether he will be arrested in handcuffs or not.

Murray To Surrender To Police

It is reported that Dr Conrad Murray, the late Michael Jackson's doctor, is planning to surrender to police in Los Angeles tomorrow morning.

He is expected to be charged over Jackson's death.

Taxpayer Sues Jackson Estate

Jose F Vallejos, an LA taxpayer, is suing Michael Jackson's estate for $3.3M.

Mr Vallejos claims that this represents the money spent by the city of Los Angeles for costs including police overtime and sanitation, when a memorial was held for Jackson at the Staples Center.

Mr Vallejos claims that Jackson's estate benefited from the use of public resources that amounted to an illegal gift of public funds.

His claim states that the money should be returned to the city treasury.

His claim ignores the fact that local hotels etc did well out of the people who visited from out of town to attend the event; ie the event generated revenue for the city.

Out of The Woodwork They Come

As noted earlier, death has offered Michael Jackson no respite from those who claim to be his creditors.

It also seems that death is offering no respite from some of his ex "wives".

The media report that Shellie Doreen Smith claims that she and Jackson were secretly married in a New York hotel, at some stage in the 1970's.

Unsurprisingly, she now wants her share of Jackson's estate.

Oddly enough though, Smith is having a little trouble remembering when the wedding took place.

Death Offers No Respite From Creditors

Even in death, Michael Jackson is being pursued by his creditors.

The media reports that a variety of creditors have lodged claims against Jackson's estate, totalling approximately $20M, since Jackson died last year.