Los Angeles:
Michael Jackson's mother Katherine has filed a suit against AEG Live, the concert promoter behind the singer's planned comeback shows, alleging they imposed a grueling rehearsal schedule that led to his death.
The Thriller hitmaker's mother charges the company breached its contractual agreement to provide medical care for her son and argues they were negligent in hiring controversial doctor Murray, People magazine reported.
"AEG did not provide a doctor who was truly looking out for Jackson's well-being and did not provide equipment," she says in the court papers which Katherine also filed on behalf of her son's three children.
Murray has pleaded not guilty to administering a fatal dose of Propofol to the superstar on June 25 last year. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that during Jackson's final rehearsal in
June 2009 for the comeback concert series, the entertainer was shivering and disoriented in the warm Staples Center. "AEG had legal duties to Michael Jackson to treat him safely and to not put him in harm's way. But AEG, despite its knowledge of Michael Jackson's physical condition, breached those duties by putting its desire for massive profits from the tour over the health and safety of Michael Jackson," says the lawsuit.
The suit also alleges that Jackson's oldest son, Prince, was left in emotional distress after witnessing paramedics trying to bring his dad back to life. The papers add, "During the course of Michael Jackson being injured and dying, his son Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr witnessed his father suffering, and accordingly has suffered great trauma and severe emotional distress."
Katherine's lawyer Brian J Panish released a statement after filing the case, saying, "The purpose of this lawsuit is to prove to the world the truth about what happened to Michael Jackson, once and for all." Katherine is seeking unspecified damages.
Director Kenny Ortega, who produced Jackson's This Is It tour, is also named as a defendant in the suit.
The Thriller hitmaker's mother charges the company breached its contractual agreement to provide medical care for her son and argues they were negligent in hiring controversial doctor Murray, People magazine reported.
"AEG did not provide a doctor who was truly looking out for Jackson's well-being and did not provide equipment," she says in the court papers which Katherine also filed on behalf of her son's three children.
Murray has pleaded not guilty to administering a fatal dose of Propofol to the superstar on June 25 last year. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges that during Jackson's final rehearsal in
June 2009 for the comeback concert series, the entertainer was shivering and disoriented in the warm Staples Center. "AEG had legal duties to Michael Jackson to treat him safely and to not put him in harm's way. But AEG, despite its knowledge of Michael Jackson's physical condition, breached those duties by putting its desire for massive profits from the tour over the health and safety of Michael Jackson," says the lawsuit.
The suit also alleges that Jackson's oldest son, Prince, was left in emotional distress after witnessing paramedics trying to bring his dad back to life. The papers add, "During the course of Michael Jackson being injured and dying, his son Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr witnessed his father suffering, and accordingly has suffered great trauma and severe emotional distress."
Katherine's lawyer Brian J Panish released a statement after filing the case, saying, "The purpose of this lawsuit is to prove to the world the truth about what happened to Michael Jackson, once and for all." Katherine is seeking unspecified damages.
Director Kenny Ortega, who produced Jackson's This Is It tour, is also named as a defendant in the suit.
