Joe Jackson filed two main sets of lawsuits after Michael Jackson’s 2009 death: a wrongful death action against Dr. Conrad Murray and a challenge to the executors of Michael’s will, plus a related petition for a monthly family allowance from the estate. None of the Joe Jackson lawsuits produced a recovery. Courts ruled he had no legal standing to contest the will because Michael had excluded him from it, and the wrongful death case was dropped in 2012 after both of his attorneys lost the ability to practice law in California.
The Wrongful Death Suit Against Dr. Conrad Murray
On June 25, 2010, one year to the day after Michael Jackson died, Joe Jackson sued Dr. Conrad Murray for wrongful death in federal court in Los Angeles.1Courthouse News Service. Michael Jackson’s Father Files Wrongful Death Suit The complaint, filed by attorney Brian Oxman, accused Murray of administering a lethal dose of sedatives and then misleading paramedics and ER doctors about what he had given the singer. According to the suit, Murray told first responders he had only administered Valium and Flomax, concealing nightly doses of propofol, an anesthetic with no approved use as a sleep aid.2The Guardian. Michael Jackson Death: Conrad Murray Wrongful Death Case Dismissed
The complaint also alleged that roughly ninety minutes passed between Murray finding Jackson unresponsive and anyone calling 911, and that during that gap Murray instructed bodyguard Alberto Alvarez to hide bottles of propofol and clean up the room.1Courthouse News Service. Michael Jackson’s Father Files Wrongful Death Suit
AEG Live and the Pharmacy Added, Then Dropped
A federal judge declined to hear the case, and Joe re-filed in Los Angeles state court, adding new defendants.2The Guardian. Michael Jackson Death: Conrad Murray Wrongful Death Case Dismissed AEG Live, the promoter behind the planned “This Is It” tour, was accused of negligence in hiring Murray as Michael’s personal physician.3CBS News. Joe Jackson Drops Lawsuit Against Dr. Conrad Murray Applied Pharmacy Services, a Las Vegas pharmacy that had sold propofol to Murray in May 2009, was accused of supplying “excessive quantities” of the drug, though authorities had previously stated the sale itself was legal.4NBC Los Angeles. Joe Jackson Refiles Wrongful Death Lawsuit
AEG Live was dismissed in February 2012. The judge agreed that Joe should have joined the separate wrongful death case already filed by his wife, Katherine Jackson, rather than pursuing a duplicate action. AEG also argued that Joe was not a legitimate heir given his estrangement from Michael and his exclusion from the will.5Billboard. Judge Dismisses AEG Live From Joe Jackson Lawsuit
Why the Case Was Dropped
On August 13, 2012, Joe’s attorney Maureen Jaroscak filed a one-page request to dismiss the entire case, and the court granted it.3CBS News. Joe Jackson Drops Lawsuit Against Dr. Conrad Murray No settlement was announced, and court records did not state a reason.
The timing coincided with the collapse of Joe’s legal team. Brian Oxman was disbarred effective July 27, 2012, after the State Bar Court found he had commingled personal and client funds to evade creditors and failed to report a judicial sanction.6The Wrap. Jackson Attorney Brian Oxman Disbarred The bar’s review panel called his use of a trust account to shield assets from creditors dishonest conduct amounting to “moral turpitude.”7California Bar Journal. CBJ September 2012 Jaroscak, his law partner, received an 18-month suspension beginning August 11, 2012, for similar conduct. The disciplinary cases involved other clients, but the practical effect was that Joe Jackson had no lawyers who could represent him in California courts.
The Challenge to Michael Jackson’s Will and Executors
Michael’s 2002 will placed his entire estate in a trust benefiting his mother Katherine, his three children, and unnamed charities. Joe Jackson was not a beneficiary. The will named attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain as executors, and the probate court appointed them special administrators on July 6, 2009.8CaseMine. Estate of Michael Joseph Jackson, B220404
On November 9, 2009, the day before a hearing to formally confirm Branca and McClain, Joe filed a 60-page objection.9The Guardian. Michael Jackson’s Father Challenges Will Executors Oxman pointed to a factual discrepancy in the document: it was marked as signed in Los Angeles on July 7, 2002, but Oxman claimed Michael was in New York that day. The filing alleged that Branca had conflicts of interest tied to Michael’s music publishing catalogue and had been fired by Michael in 2006 over suspected embezzlement, and it listed ten additional grounds for removal, including a claim that the executors had “fabricated” the will.10CNN. Michael Jackson Estate Probate Court Ruling
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff rejected the challenge on standing. Because Joe was not named in the will, he was not an “interested person” under California Probate Code and could not object to the executors’ appointment. Beckloff noted that even if the will and trust were thrown out entirely, Michael’s children would inherit under intestacy law, not his father.11CBS News. Joe Jackson To Inherit Nothing From Son “Joe Jackson takes none of this estate,” the judge said. “This is a decision his son made.”
The Appeal
On October 26, 2010, a three-justice panel of the California Second District Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed.12TheGrio. Court Rejects Michael Jackson Father’s Estate Appeal The appellate court agreed Joe was not an “interested party” and held that the probate judge was not required to hold an evidentiary hearing on that question. The panel added that Joe’s challenge ran “contrary to the interests of his wife Katherine Jackson and three grandchildren,” the actual beneficiaries.13Today. Court Rejects Joe Jackson’s Estate Challenge Joe was ordered to pay the legal costs of the failed challenge. Oxman said he would seek reconsideration and possibly petition the California Supreme Court, but no further successful appeal appears in the record.
The Petition for a Family Allowance
In November 2009, alongside the executor challenge, Joe petitioned the probate court for a monthly family allowance, arguing that Michael had supported him for years.14CNN. Joe Jackson Files for Estate Allowance His attorney’s declaration claimed Michael had been paying Joe $50,000 to $60,000 per month before his death.8CaseMine. Estate of Michael Joseph Jackson, B220404
The petition itself asked for more than $15,000 per month, covering items like $1,200 in rent on a Las Vegas home, $2,500 for dining out, $3,000 for hotels, $2,000 for air travel, and $1,000 for entertainment and gifts.15CBS News. Judge Weighs Allowance for Joe Jackson Joe reported receiving $1,700 per month in Social Security at the time.11CBS News. Joe Jackson To Inherit Nothing From Son
Katherine Jackson and Michael’s three children were already receiving court-approved allowances totaling more than $86,000 a month, with Katherine’s share at roughly $26,800 and the children’s combined share at $60,000; housing was paid separately by the estate.16Los Angeles Times. Jackson Family Allowance Approved Estate administrators opposed Joe’s petition, saying he had been deliberately omitted from the will and had not shown that Michael actually supported him.15CBS News. Judge Weighs Allowance for Joe Jackson
Joe withdrew the petition roughly six months after the probate court denied his executor challenge. His notice of withdrawal said he would pursue his claims through the wrongful death case against Murray instead.8CaseMine. Estate of Michael Joseph Jackson, B220404 That case was itself dropped two years later.
Why Standing Kept Defeating Him
The standing problem that killed Joe Jackson’s estate cases was rooted in the state of the relationship. Father and son had been estranged for years by the time Michael died; security reportedly barred Joe from Michael’s estate, and Michael had fired his father as manager back in 1979.17CBS News. Joe Jackson’s Complicated Relationship With His Children18Vanity Fair. Joe Jackson Obituary Michael’s 2002 will left his father out entirely, and California probate law then treated that exclusion as decisive: someone with no interest under the will and no path to inherit by intestacy has no standing to challenge how the estate is run.
Joe Jackson died of pancreatic cancer on June 27, 2018, at the age of 89.19Vibe. Joe Jackson Dead: Michael Jackson Estate Reacts None of his lawsuits against the estate or against Murray produced a recovery.