Paris Jackson has filed a new objection in her ongoing legal battle with the executors of her father’s estate, accusing attorney John Branca of using his position to “enrich and aggrandize himself.”
The King of Pop’s only daughter, 27, first raised concerns over “irregular payments” signed off by the estate’s executors, Branca and A&R executive John McClain, back in July.
In a new legal filing viewed by The Independent, Paris claimed that Branca’s law firm received more than $10 million from the estate in 2021, more than double what any member of the Jackson family were paid that year from the family allowance.
Paris also questions Branca’s role as an executive producer on the upcoming biopic Michael, and the decision to cast A-list actor Miles Teller as Branca in the film.
“It appears that Mr Branca used his position as an Executive Producer, a role he has never before performed in connection with any dramatic feature film, to cast the sole A-list actor in the production, Miles Teller, to play himself in the upcoming feature production Michael,” reads the filing.
The filing goes on to state that Branca “chose to use (or at least risk) Estate assets to fund rather than license the rights to a studio or production company. Undoubtedly, Mr Branca considers his story to be central to the Michael Jackson story. Nonetheless, it is unclear how this peculiar and presumably costly casting decision will result in commensurate box office receipts.”
Teller appears briefly as Branca in the recent trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s film, which will star Jaafar Jackson as his real-life uncle Michael.
On November 10, a judge granted the estate’s special motion to strike much of Paris’ petition to the court. Los Angeles Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff threw out claims based on the estate’s own court filings, ruling that these documents are protected under the First Amendment and California’s anti-SLAPP laws.
However, representatives for Paris told The Independent that she has not conceded defeat.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “This order is limited to minor procedural issues and does not change the facts: the pattern of behavior displayed by the executors and their attorneys raises significant red flags, and Paris will continue working to ensure her family is treated fairly. We will be submitting an updated filing shortly.”
Despite his immense musical legacy, Michael Jackson’s financial situation was widely reported to have been in disarray at the time of his death in late June 2009. In the aftermath, his estate’s beneficiaries were named as his three children: sons Prince and Bigi and daughter Paris.
However, in the past year, a public rift has grown between Paris and the estate’s executors.
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