A jury Wednesday cleared Michael Jackson’s concert promoters of any wrongdoing in connection to The King of Pop’s shocking death.
The LA County Superior Court panel found that entertainment conglomerate AEG Live isn’t liable for MJ’s death on June 25, 2009, when The Gloved One was given a deadly overdose of anesthesia.
Jackson’s loved ones failed to show that AEG knew it was hiring an “incompetent,” prescription-pad-loving doctor, Conrad Murray.
Family matriarch Katherine Jackson and nephew Trent Jackson were in court to hear bad news — that she, MJ’s sons Prince and Blanket and daughter Paris are being denied a civil payout of up to $2 billion.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with the way the jury came out,” smiling AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said after the verdict. “They got it exactly right.”
For Jackson’s family to cash in, jurors in this civil case needed to answer “yes” to five consecutive questions that linked Murray to AEG.
Jurors answered “yes” to: “Did AEG Live hire Dr. Conrad Murray?”
But the plaintiff’s case fell apart on the second question: “Was Dr. Conrad Murray unfit or incompetent to perform the work for which he was hired?” The panel unanimously said “no,” ending deliberations.
When Murray agreed to work for Jackson, he was a licensed cardiologist in Texas and Nevada.
“He was competent,” jury foreman Gregg Barden said. “But not necessarily ethical. If `ethical’ had been in the question, it would have a different answer.”
Juror No. 9 Kevin Smith said AEG showed it had no real control over Murray, who was handpicked by Jackson.
“AEG wanted another doctor but Michael said `no,’ ” Smith said. “If he [Jackson] couldn’t admit to his own mother that he was addict to get help, he wasn’t going to get a doctor that would help him.”
Lead Jackson family lawyer Brian Panish had a medical procedure done on Wednesday afternoon, and couldn’t make it to court to hear the verdict.
Later, Panish told The Post he couldn’t fathom how jurors could have deemed Murray as a competent physician when was brought on board: “Confusing [that the] jury could find Murray fit and competent.”
Panish’s legal partner Kevin Boyle said he hopes entertainment executives pay more attention to the doctors they’re hiring.
“We think that what we’ve done with this case is prove some things that are important for the Jackson family and for the concert industry and the sports industry with regards to treatment by doctors,” Boyle said.
A criminal jury found the Doctor Feelgood Murray guilty of manslaughter two years ago, for using the anesthesia propofol on Jackson as sleep medication.
Murray never signed a contract with AEG, but Jackson family lawyers tried to link the company and doctor with e-mails and other communications between them.
Jackson, 50, died inside his rented mansion in LA, where he had been rehearsing for a 50-show run at London’s O2 Arena.
With Post Wire Services