The family of Michael Jackson has lost a negligence case against concert promoters AEG Live over the death of the 50-year-old pop star.<\/p>\n
A jury concluded the doctor looking after Jackson ahead of his concert tour was not unfit for his job – and so AEG had not been negligent in hiring him.<\/p>\n
Jackson died in 2009 after taking an overdose of a surgical anaesthetic.<\/p>\n
Dr Conrad Murray was jailed for four years for involuntary manslaughter for administering the drug.<\/p>\n
To reach its verdict, the jury of six men and six women had to go through five key yes-no questions seeking to establish whether AEG was responsible for Murray’s hiring in the first place and concerning his competence for the job.<\/p>\n
The jury decided that AEG Live did hire Murray but found that he was not unfit or incompetent for the job.<\/p>\n
Delivering the verdict, jury foreman Gregg Barden said: “That doesn’t mean we felt he was ethical.”<\/p>\n
The ruling was welcomed by AEG Live, who argued that they hired Murray at the request of Jackson and had no knowledge of the star’s drug dependency.<\/p>\n
“I counted Michael Jackson a creative partner and a friend,” said AEG Live executive Randy Phillips, who had testified at the trial.<\/p>\n
“We lost one of the world’s greatest musical geniuses, but I am relieved and deeply grateful that the jury recognised that neither I, nor anyone else at AEG Live, played any part in Michael’s tragic death.”<\/p>\n
Jackson’s 83-year-old mother Katherine was in court for the verdict, and appeared emotional as it was read out, Reuters news agency reports.<\/p>\n
Her lawyer, Kevin Boyle, said the family was “of course.. not happy with the result as it stands now. We will be exploring all options legally and factually and make a decision about anything at a later time.”<\/p>\n
In closing arguments, the Jackson lawyers had suggested the damages they were seeking could exceed $1bn – amounts AEG Live had described as “absurd”.<\/p>\n
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