Lawsuit Over Michael Jackson's Death Expected to be Re-Filed
in State Court
Published 11/02/2010 - 9:40 a.m. PDT
(CNS) Posted Tuesday November 2, 2010 - 9:41pm
A federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday rejected a wrongful-death lawsuit brought by Michael Jackson's father
against the doctor charged in the pop entertainer's death, saying the complaint should be filed in state court.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter said he didn't have the authority to hear the bulk of the case and that Joe
Jackson would be unlikely to collect in his court the amount of damages he is seeking.
The ruling came after Jackson's attorney agreed to dismiss the sole federal issue in his complaint against Dr.
Conrad Murray, who admitted giving the singer the powerful sedative propofol, which was determined to have
caused his death.
The federal facet of the lawsuit alleged the singer's rights were violated under the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
Walter said that was the only issue in the case he could handle, suggesting the case belongs in state court.
Joe Jackson's attorney, Brian Oxman, has indicated he would refile the case in Los Angeles Superior Court, as
part of a case filed by the Jackson family patriarch's wife against concert promoter AEG Live.
In September, Katherine Jackson sued the company, which planned and promoted a series of London concerts
Michael Jackson was preparing for when he died unexpectedly in June 2009.
Joe Jackson's complaint, filed last June in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, alleges that Murray gave
false information to paramedics and doctors and withheld details about the "polypharmacy' of drugs the pop
star had been given.
The singer's father contends Murray hindered efforts to revive Jackson in an ambulance and at Ronald Reagan
UCLA Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
In court papers, Murray's lawyers argued that the federal suit was essentially "a press release that is intended
to prejudice and inflame the jury pool and the public against' the defendant.
Murray is charged with involuntary manslaughter in state court and is awaiting trial.
Murray's criminal defense attorney, Ed Chernoff, has said that his client "took the necessary precautions' in
treating the entertainer, "and then something happened that is unexplained.'