Roommates, Michael Jackson’s estate has been in an ongoing battle with HBO after the network released its Leaving Neverland documentary about his life in 2019, and an appeals court just turned things in their favor.
According to Variety, the Jackson estate sued HBO for $100 million, arguing that the documentary violated a 27-year-old non-disparagement clause from a 1992 concert film from the “Dangerous” tour. HBO argued in court that the clause is not relevant to the present issues of the case, and accused the Jackson estate of seeking to silence victims of sexual abuse.
Last year, a lower court granted the estate’s motion to take the dispute to arbitration, which HBO appealed. As of Monday, however, the judges ruled that the case is worthy of an appeal, despite HBO’s claims that the lawsuit is “frivolous.”
“The contract contained a broad arbitration clause that covers claims that HBO disparaged Jackson in violation of ongoing confidentiality obligations,” the panel ruled. “We may only identify whether the parties agreed to arbitrate such claims; it is for the arbitrator to decide whether those claims are meritorious.”
HBO’s goal was to avoid arbitration, explaining that the network never intended to grant Michael Jackson and his estate a veto over anything the network may have wanted to say about him. They also argued that the contract expired after both sides fulfilled their obligations.
Nevertheless, Jackson’s attorneys, Howard Weitzman and Jonathan Steinsapir, were pleased with the ruling.
“The trial judge and now the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals have unanimously rejected HBO’s arguments,” they said. “In the court’s own words, HBO ‘agreed that it would not make any disparaging remarks concerning Jackson.’ It’s time for HBO to answer for its violation of its obligations for Michael Jackson.”
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