4/15/2011

Michael Jackson Estate vs. Melissa Johnson: Defendants fights back!

Melissa Johnson's attorney replied on the approved motion regarding the exhibitions. Edgar Pease balmed (you won't guess it) the plaintiffs. He says that John Branca and co. can afford such an expensive legal team, but he is a "solo practicioner" and it was extremly hard for him to come up with the deadlines. It seems that Pease got religions saying that they were preparing the documents in "good faith" and they are "praying the court for deny" on the motion.

The defendants filed a lost of exhibits in a hurry. Most of the items has been listed without any explanation. Others are labelled like "the domain guy's e-mail".

Exhibit 3336:
"Johnson doesn’t sell, but donates the names to Jackson’s charity. Johnson encourages a Leslie in Email to do the same."
:)

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree with Edgar Pease. Estate have access to many attorneys and millions of dollars which belong to Mrs Jackson and his children. This is a miscarriage of justice if the judge allows this

Anonymous said...

its' not as if this issue is a new one and Pease hasn't been in the loop. he has been aware of the case for well over a year. how much more time does the man need?
and if Mrs. Jackson were at all concerned about the Estate funds, she should not have gotten involved with crooks with questionable backgrounds in the first place, prolonging the probate process. KJ is a "guardian" entrusted to care for MJ's 3 innocent children - that should have been her first priority, not dragging them into business ventures w/o compensation. instead, she has them involved in a contract for LIFE w/ someone w/ continued ties to the adult industry who is financing Johnson's endeavors relating to MJ trademarks? what contract PROTECTS MJ's 3 children? if Johnson et al cannot pull together their "evidence" that is NOT based on a personal vendetta against Branca, then they simply didn't have a leg to stand on in the first place. priority 1: safety for MJ's children (and his mother, if she wants it).

Anonymous said...

GO BRANCA GO!

Susan62509 said...

Leslie: I need your help. What do you mean by "the domain guy's email?" Is this something Melissa could have created herself?

Also, what does "Johnson encourages a Leslie in email to do the same" mean?

Susan62509 said...

Anonymous @ 4:38 a.m.

If a defendant knows they haven't broken the law and can prove it, they should request attorney fees to be paid by the prosecution.

There isn't any miscarriage of justice on which side has more attorneys. Mann is paying for this lawsuit for Melissa and he has made a lot of money through his porn industry. Don't let him fool you. If Mann hired Mr. Pease, a one man office, then that was his decision and not an excuse. Judges only read the paperwork and listen to the case presented. They can't be prejudice to which side has the most money. Sorry.

Susan62509 said...

"Johnson doesn't sell, but donates the names to Jackson's charity."

That is an interesting statement because on jacksonsecretvault website is a video by Geraldine Hughes of her saying Melissa gave the names (trademarks) to Katherine for free.

Only the legal owner of the trademarks is allowed to transfer them into someone else's name. "Giving" them to the charity means absolutely nothing because Melissa herself will be able to collect fees for their use since she claims she is president of HTWF. Who is she trying to fool?

The Jackson family has no entitlement to MJ's trademarks. They began with Michael so he is rightful owner because they are his image and logo. If I am wrong, them any body in the world can go to the government trademark office and put their name on anyone's mark.

Anonymous said...

"That is an interesting statement because on jacksonsecretvault website is a video by Geraldine Hughes of her saying Melissa gave the names (trademarks) to Katherine for free."

KJ cannot own MJ image, likeness and trademarks. she does not have the rights to those properties.The Estate is the rightful owner of these rights as it represents MJ after life. When his kids get older enough they will inherit those rights as per MJ wishes.

The Jacksons are very delusional people. They think they are entitled to MJ properties. They are dead wrong. It just shows how ignorant they are. I am not surprised since none of them have any sort of education or whatsoever.

Anonymous said...

Power struggle between attorneys, so it seems. It is E. Pease (H. Mann) against A. Streisand (KJ) - and Streisand got the boot from KJ in written form. Simple as that.

june said...

Where is Margaret Lodise in all this, the attorney appointed by the probate court as guardian ad litem for Michael's 3 children, in "estate involved" matters. IMO, this IS an "estate involved matter"; if KJ has bound the children to an interminable and "binding" contract, Ms. Lodise should step me and free them from it.

MJJJusticeProject said...

For the Defendants to cry that they didn't have time after 19 months has passed to present a proper case is rather disingenuous, Mr. Pease. The changing of the attorney's at this critical juncture looks suspiciously as as an act to buy more time to draw out this lawsuit. I hope everyone realizes that the Estate is juggling a few other litigations regarding MJ's holdings and they take each case seriously as they are commissioned to protect and defend MIchael from all of these entities trying to get their hands on his legacy. Mann and Johnson are claiming that whatever they did was FOR Michael...then why all this hullabaloo..???? If you did it for Michael then Hand it all over and step off. Stop pretending that the Estate attorneys are the bad guys as it is so obvious that HTWF took advantage of Katherine Jackson while she was grieving. The Court does not have the right to cause this trial to drag out just because Mann & Johnson are playing the poor little guy to the large legal MJ Estate team. The Court has a responsibility to see this case to it's end.. swiftly.

Anonymous said...

Every one here is missing the point! The Estate put a system in place "Bates Stamped" Making it impossible for HTWF to reach deadline. Estate are playing DIRTY! Not one person here smart enough to see whats happening! Estate has at least Seven attorney working on this case. HTWF ONE!

Anonymous said...

"Every one here is missing the point! The Estate put a system in place "Bates Stamped" Making it impossible for HTWF to reach deadline. Estate are playing DIRTY! Not one person here smart enough to see whats happening! Estate has at least Seven attorney working on this case. HTWF ONE!
"

You are an idiot. HTWF had 19 months to sort out their exhibits. Plus HTWF has no rights to MJ image, likeness and intellectual property. They have brainwashed KJ to almost hopeless proportions.

Susan62509 said...

Anonymous 4/16 8:44 a.m.

The Estate is not playing dirty, they are following the law which Edgar Pease is not. The trial was originally set for April 19 and rescheduled to April 29.

Please read the California statutes regarding the timeframe that witness list, evidence, etc. are to be exchanged between prosecution and defense:

Code of Civil Procedure
2024.020. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any
party shall be entitled as a matter of right to complete discovery
proceedings on or before the 30th day, and to have motions concerning
discovery heard on or before the 15th day, before the date initially
set for the trial of the action.

2024.030. Any party shall be entitled as a matter of right to
complete discovery proceedings pertaining to a witness identified
under Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 2034.010) on or before the
15th day, and to have motions concerning that discovery heard on or
before the 10th day, before the date initially set for the trial of
the action.

Code of Civil Procedure
2024.020. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any
party shall be entitled as a matter of right to complete discovery
proceedings on or before the 30th day, and to have motions concerning
discovery heard on or before the 15th day, before the date initially
set for the trial of the action.

2024.030. Any party shall be entitled as a matter of right to
complete discovery proceedings pertaining to a witness identified
under Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 2034.010) on or before the
15th day, and to have motions concerning that discovery heard on or
before the 10th day, before the date initially set for the trial of
the action.

The stalling of Pease to provide the evidence is the same game Conrad Murray's defense team is doing.

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous 4/16 8:44 a.m

You said:
"The Estate put a system in place "Bates Stamped"

Not correct. Bates Numbering has been around since 1890 and has been used in legal practice for numbering documents for DECADES.

It's common knowledge, please check it before making such a comment.

june said...

Bates stamping was not put in place by the Estate; I've worked in law offices for years; it's a manner of numbering documents when they are submitted to the court for reference purposes. Makes me laugh the lengths some will go to avoid the real problems that Johnson, Mann, et al., have here; they have no evidence, they have no proof and their lawyer is a liar.

Susan62509 said...

From website: Michael Jacksons Fans United For His Legacy

#MJfansAGAINSTmann Twitter Event

Tomorrow, Sunday April 17th 2011 at 3PM Eastern, Michael Jackson fans from all corners of the world will converge on Twitter to send out a powerful message to Howard Mann & his business partners, namely Henry Vaccaro and Melissa Johnson.

WE WILL NOT STAND QUIETLY ON THE SIDE AND WATCH YOU ATTACK AND SOIL MICHAEL JACKSON’S LEGACY.

We, as a community, want to unite our voices as one in the spirit of Michael Jackson, ahead of the April 19th trial, and let the world know we will continue standing up to those who want to hijack Michael Jackson’s legacy.

USE THIS HASHTAG: #MJfansAGAINSTmann

The event starts at Noon Pacific. 3PM New York. 4PM Sao Paulo. 8PM London. 9PM Paris. 11PM Russia . 3AM Singapore. 4AM Tokyo.

Susan62509 said...

I read the Estates final trial brief dated 4/12/11. Interesting to note that 9-22-10 Melissa merged her HTWF with MJ's 1991 HTWF to revive it and filed such with the Calif. Secretary of State to amend the Articles of Inc. changing HTWF 1991 to read she is now the officer and director. She filed with the IRS & Calif. State Tax Board of this change also.

Through discovery the estate obtain an email from Melissa to certain Jackson lawyers claiming that with the trademarks the charity has registered & pending in line, "the Jackson family can take back control of the estate without contesting the Will." Huh??? She's nuts making that statement.

She also filed an intent to use MJ's trademarks in conjunction with a number of products the estate wanted to use.
*********
Melissa has broken the law again including the trademark law. "California State of Trademarks and Service Marks
Applicants are required to state a declaration of accuracy that the material facts in the application are true. A willful inaccurate statement is subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 to be enforced by a public prosecutor."

IMO, Melissa's obsession with Michael has led her into not only breaking the federal & states laws but ultimately all the trademarks she registered will end up the property of the estate.

Amazing what happens to people when they think they are above the law.

Susan62509 said...

UPDATE: April 19, 2011

Statement from the Estate of Michael Jackson regarding Heal the World

From the Estate:

Press reports on TMZ and other media sites regarding the settlement terms between the Michael Jackson Estate and the Heal the World defendants are wrong. The Estate is taking back the Heal the World Foundation and all of the Michael Jackson trademarks it allegedly owned. The Michael Jackson Estate owns the Heal the World name, and neither Melissa Johnson nor her companies will ever be able to use Michael Jackson’s name or the Heal the World name.

I'm anxious to read the details of the settlement. Hopefully it will be filed in court.

june said...

Susan, I read yesterday that part of the settlement is "confidential". Wonder if Johnson got to stay on in some capacity as part of a compromise. Will we ever know?

Susan62509 said...

Hi June:

It's interesting that the settlement is confidential huh?

In MJ's Trust he wrote the charity committee will consist of Branca, McClain & Katherine.

The Estate has to file new/corrected "Articles of Incorporation" with the State of California. So.....we should be able to find out if Johnson is on the board. I'm highly doubtful that Johnson is on the board. She's too much of a negative influence on Katherine. I, as a fan, feel any association with Johnson would tarnish HTWF's future. I'm just hoping the Estate didn't "pay" Johnson any money or write a letter to the State & IRS on her behalf not to pursue charges. The Estate didn't need to compromise with Johnson for the trademarks because by law they were all still legally MJ's.

june said...

Susan, yes I too hope the estate didn't "pay" Johnson; and I feel Johnson should be prosecuted by IRS, Cal State, etc.; she committed crimes here and cheated confused griefstriken people after Michael's death. If she filed tax returns for the charity in 2010, due to the publicity, the IRS will now scrutinize the issue even if the estate marginalizes her crimes as part of a settlement. Due to "confidentiality" there are many elements of this settlement which unfortunately will never be made public.

Susan62509 said...

June:
I'm in complete agreement with you that Johnson deserves to be reprimanded by the IRS & State. She needs to learn a lesson so she doesn't do this again to someone else. She should also reimburse all the fans that she deceived who donated to her from 2009 that totalled approx. $6,000.