Paris Jackson has vowed to renew her legal battle over her late father Michael Jackson’s estate after a judge dismissed several of her claims on procedural grounds.
The King of Pop’s only daughter, 27, first raised concerns over “irregular payments” signed off by the estate’s executors, attorney John Branca and A&R executive John McClain, back in July.
In August, she further alleged that a “closely-knit, highly-compensated” group of lawyers is exploiting a lack of oversight “to skim money” from the estate.
As People reports, on Monday, 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 Jackson 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.
In a July 2025 legal filing, she expressed concern about the practice of executors granting “so-called ‘premium payments’ for unrecorded attorney time.”
Jackson’s legal team argued that the payments reflect poorly on the executors of the estate, writing: “These irregular payments raise serious and substantial questions about Executors’ ability to effectively supervise counsel… and refraining from wasteful, six-figure gift-giving to themselves and their colleagues.”
In response to those claims, Branca and McClain hit back at allegations of mismanagement and claimed that Paris has received substantial benefits.
The executors argued that they had been able to turn around the estate’s fortunes, writing: “The Executors’ business judgment has taken an estate that ‘started out as nothing but debt and substantial ongoing obligations’ and ‘turned [it] into a $2 billion estate’ — an estate that is now ‘a powerhouse and a force in the music business today.’”
The estate is involved in the production of the upcoming biopic Michael, which recently unveiled an early glimpse of Jaafar Jackson performing as his uncle.
