Michael Jackson's ex-manager awarded $3M he was due as court rules he can't sue King of Pop’s estate anymore
Michael Jackson's former manager Tohme Tohme's legal war with Jackson's estate has come to an end. According to a report in The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, July 16, a California judge, Mark A Young, ruled on Tuesday that Tohme is owed the $3 million he was promised in a 2019 settlement despite the fact that the deal was never finalized in writing.
Tohme was one of the last managers for Jackson before the King of Pop died in 2009. He sued Jackson’s estate in 2012, claiming that he was owed a 15 percent commission on money Jackson made during the last year of his life. This, along with a cut of the revenues from the hugely successful concert film, ‘This Is It’, and a finder's fee for a loan that stopped Neverland Ranch from going into foreclosure.
Last year, it seemed like the feud was coming to an end. The parties had reached a settlement mid-trial in May 2019. But reportedly, they struggled to agree upon a written version and Tohme sued again. The estate hasn't paid, arguing that they never executed their agreement in writing and the deal required a mutual release. According to The Hollywood Reporter, through that release both the estate and Tohme would “irrevocably, unconditionally, release, acquit and forever discharge” any and all claims against each other.
The estate reportedly argued in its response filing that such an agreement was necessary because the “intent of the settlement was to finally put to rest all of Tohme's claims so that the Estate is not burdened by future litigation of old claims.”
In November 2019, Tohme sued John Branca and John McClain, as representatives of the estate, for breach of contract. He claimed that the draft of the agreement the estate sent him included terms he hadn't agreed to and it was never signed. He argued however that they made an oral agreement. On the other side, Jackson’s estate argued that both the parties had mutually understood that the deal wouldn't be final until it was signed. The estate further argued that Tohme breached their agreement by refusing to sign the agreed-upon release.
L.A. County Superior Court judge Young on Tuesday, July 14, granted Tohme's motion. He found that the parties had formed an oral agreement. Further, he ruled that the evidence presented by Tohme suggested the estate, in refusing to pay, didn't keep up its end of the deal.
“As set forth above, the Court concludes that the parties entered into a binding settlement agreement with all of the material terms placed on the record in open court. Even if the agreement was not binding, however, the Court would conclude that the Estate is judicially estopped from denying the enforceability of the Settlement Agreement,” Judge Young said.
“Here, the parties orally agreed to all of the terms and conditions of a settlement agreement," noted Judge Young. “Defendant fails to produce any evidence that parties intended for there to be a binding contract after a writing was produced, such that there exists a material issue of dispute fact.”
But it’s not Tohme’s victory alone. Judge Young found the oral agreement regarding the mutual release to be binding as well. This means that Tohme will get his $3 million, but at the same time, the estate will get the assurance that they will be engaged in no further litigation with him.