MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro - Settlement reached

[Bubs]

(b) that even if Messrs. Branca and McClain are the properly court-appointed Executors, there is some legal basis to challenge their authority in this proceeding, either by certain Jackson Family members or Defendants,

What's this means?

(c) that Mr. Mann’s misconduct is somehow excused or mitigated because the Executors are allegedly not properly providing for Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s mother and a life estate beneficiary of the Estate, and

Did we not just got the numbers how much K gets from estate, and still thinks she is not provided for!


Mann / Vaccaro mentions that Katherine is their partner, the main product is the book (and a documentary plan) and the website is to sell Katherine's book and therefore the relationship between Katherine and Estate is relevant.

The last thing I would like to see is document from them!


Mann continues to say "Katherine Jackson,the primary beneficiary of the Estate, has a real and pressing need for funds." and "Katherine Jackson entered into the partnership with Howard Mann and why the partnership is fair, reasonable and in the economic interest of Katherine Jackson. The partnership is not the result of some devious underhanded conduct of Howard Mann as the Estate suggests"

Katherine has no pressing need for funds, it's the useless cubs that are in need for money e.g. Randy.
Their partnership is the result of devious underhanded conduct of Mann.


Mann / Vaccaro is arguing that as the placement of Thriller 25 on their website had happened prior to the lawsuit and as Estate has not clearly asked for every version of the website to be saved before they should be able to use the website evidence as it's available.

:doh:



- August 27 is the day for the final hearing that the judge will decide on the above 3 motions , the expert witness, the website and will & executors.
- September 4 is the trial start.

Aug 27 and especially Sep 4 cannot came fast enough!

 

[elusive moonwalker]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Mann continues to say "Katherine Jackson,the primary beneficiary of the Estate, has a real and pressing need for funds."

HA HA good one. this case is so pathetic and manns arguements are such a joke. is this a jury or a judge trial?. cause imo manns only chance is with a jury full of ppl who dont have a clue about whats going on becasue its fianacial issues

 

[Memefan]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

I hope the trial end before September 18th.

Yeah... I agree with everything you guys wrote about Mann. He's desperate ... the will "validity" is a hail Mary. Good Luck with that.

 

[ivy]

First let me quote this as it really explains Mann's theory plainly "-BLANAID/-BX @BLANAIDXLIVES The way I read it: If will is invalid the current Estate has no basis and does not own any copyrights and thuscannot sue."

(b) that even if Messrs. Branca and McClain are the properly court-appointed Executors, there is some legal basis to challenge their authority in this proceeding, either by certain Jackson Family members or Defendants,

What's this means?

Part of Estate's argument is this is irrelevant, wrong court and Mann doesn't have legal standing in regards to Executors. The above part says that Mann will argue that they have a standing for some legal reason to challenge Executors appointment in this lawsuit

(c) that Mr. Mann’s misconduct is somehow excused or mitigated because the Executors are allegedly not properly providing for Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson’s mother and a life estate beneficiary of the Estate, and

Did we not just got the numbers how much K gets from estate, and still thinks she is not provided for!

I think the question is what is he provided for. Estate is required to provide for Katherine's needs and expenses and only Katherine's. If Mann or Katherine is expecting to be provided for other Jacksons as well then from their perspective they could think the money Estate gives to her isn't enough.

In other words for example Estate isn't paying expenses of Joe and Katherine might be in need for funds to pay for his expenses regardless of the fact that Katherine is looked after nicely by the Estate.

Mann / Vaccaro mentions that Katherine is their partner, the main product is the book (and a documentary plan) and the website is to sell Katherine's book and therefore the relationship between Katherine and Estate is relevant.

The last thing I would like to see is document from them!

The documentary was planned, Mann also bought the rights to Vaccaro's story. everything is kinda on hold due to lawsuit.

 

[shelly_webster]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

"In other words for example Estate isn't paying expenses of Joe and Katherine might be in need for funds to pay for his expenses regardless of the fact that Katherine is looked after nicely by the Estate."

Why would she pay for Joe or anyone else? The trust document says her personal needs not the rest of the family needs and he obviously didn't want Joe to have money from him.

 

[Nathy MJ]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Thanks for the update Ivy.

If the Estate win this case, will they be able to get Michael's property back or will they only be able to prevent Mann from using the property for profit?

 

[Bonnie Blue]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

is this a jury or a judge trial?. cause imo manns only chance is with a jury full of ppl who dont have a clue about whats going on becasue its fianacial issues

I really don't think the financial issues are so complex that the ordinary joe on a jury trial can't see what is happening here. There is simply no defence case - i wonder where mann's court costs are coming from, hopefullly not from mrs j's 'loans'.

I think the question is what is she is provided for. Estate is required to provide for Katherine's needs and expenses and only Katherine's. If Mann or Katherine is expecting to be provided for other Jacksons as well then from their perspective they could think the money Estate gives to her isn't enough.

I know we had alot of fun on the forum with jermaine's quote from his q and a, about 'the lioness looking after her cubs, it's a phillosophy that is well-known in our family' but i guess this is the argument that the family have been trying to use on the executors. MJ's will may have just stripulated that mrs j be looked after, forget the exact words now, 'and her comfort and wellbeing'. For the jacksons mrs j's 'wellbeing' defo includes child support for her sons, cars/property for her children and grandchildren. and general prosperity for anyone with the last name jackson. The need to overturn the will suggests the executors and the courts don't share this 'jackson philosophy' and have a slightly narrower interpretation of the words 'comfort and wellbeing'.

 

[passy001]

Take that Howard Mann:

Judge rules website violated Jackson copyrights
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer – 9 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a website and businessman working with Michael Jackson's mother has violated some of the singer's copyrights and should be blocked from future uses of the works.
U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson sided with the singer's estate in a ruling Friday against Howard Mann and the website www.michaeljacksonsecretvault.com
The estate sued Mann in January 2011, claiming he was violating copyrights and posed unfair competition to Jackson's estate. Pregerson ruled that the website improperly used art from the film "This Is It," a logo featuring Jackson and the song "Destiny," as well as other material.
A phone message for Mann's attorney was not immediately returned Friday. Mann has collaborated with Katherine Jackson, who is a beneficiary of the singer's estate.
The ruling does not address damages.
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[passy001]

Michael Jackson Estate Scores a Major Win in Court

The Michael Jackson estate has won a major victory in court. The executors have triumphed over Howard Mann, the Canadian business man who published a book of photos with Katherine Jackson without the estate’s permission. Mann also purchased a boatload of souvenirs and Jackson family memorabilia from a warehouse owner in New Jersey. Among the items were tapes of music by Michael Jackson. Mann claimed ownership of the copyrights of those tapes even released a song from the collection. Now, with a summary judgment, the court has ruled against Mann. He’ll have to shut down his Jackson websites, especially the one selling the book of photos. Mann took a bath on that book, too. He has cartons and cartons of them somewhere. More to come..

Here’s a statement from Howard Weitzman:
A Federal Court Judge ruled today that Howard Mann cannot exploit intellectual property created by the late Michael Jackson, including trademarks, copyrights, name, likeness and image.
These assets are owned by the late singer’s Estate for the benefit of his children and mother. The Court found that Mann and his entities improperly claimed to own the assets, and intended in bad faith to profit from them using his various websites.

Zia Modabber, one of the lawyers who represents the Estate in this matter states “The Court’s ruling makes clear that Howard Mann had no right to use Michael Jackson’s intellectual property for his own benefit.” The Court ruled that Mann and his entities in fact do not own any of Michael Jackson’s intellectual property and should be permanently enjoined from unlawfully using Michael Jackson’s intellectual property in the future.

Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the Estate indicated that “The Court’s ruling means that a trial set for September 4, 2012 will involve how much in damages the Michael Jackson Estate is entitled to collect from Mann and his various entities.” The Executors of the Michael Jackson Estate are extremely pleased with the Court’s ruling which prevents Mann from continuing to unlawfully profit from Michael Jackson and his intellectual property.
http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/08/10/michael-jackson-estate-scores-a-major-win-in-court

 

[Memefan]

Michael Jackson Estate Scores a Major Win in Court

The Michael Jackson estate has won a major victory in court. The executors have triumphed over Howard Mann, the Canadian business man who published a book of photos with Katherine Jackson without the estate’s permission. Mann also purchased a boatload of souvenirs and Jackson family memorabilia from a warehouse owner in New Jersey. Among the items were tapes of music by Michael Jackson. Mann claimed ownership of the copyrights of those tapes even released a song from the collection. Now, with a summary judgment, the court has ruled against Mann. He’ll have to shut down his Jackson websites, especially the one selling the book of photos. Mann took a bath on that book, too. He has cartons and cartons of them somewhere. More to come..
Here’s a statement from Howard Weitzman:
A Federal Court Judge ruled today that Howard Mann cannot exploit intellectual property created by the late Michael Jackson, including trademarks, copyrights, name, likeness and image.
These assets are owned by the late singer’s Estate for the benefit of his children and mother. The Court found that Mann and his entities improperly claimed to own the assets, and intended in bad faith to profit from them using his various websites. Zia Modabber, one of the lawyers who represents the Estate in this matter states “The Court’s ruling makes clear that Howard Mann had no right to use Michael Jackson’s intellectual property for his own benefit.” The Court ruled that Mann and his entities in fact do not own any of Michael Jackson’s intellectual property and should be permanently enjoined from unlawfully using Michael Jackson’s intellectual property in the future.
Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the Estate indicated that “The Court’s ruling means that a trial set for September 4, 2012 will involve how much in damages the Michael Jackson Estate is entitled to collect from Mann and his various entities.” The Executors of the Michael Jackson Estate are extremely pleased with the Court’s ruling which prevents Mann from continuing to unlawfully profit from Michael Jackson and his intellectual property.
http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/08/10/michael-jackson-estate-scores-a-major-win-in-court

STATEMENTS FROM LAWYERS:

Here’s a statement from Howard Weitzman:
A Federal Court Judge ruled today that Howard Mann cannot exploit intellectual property created by the late Michael Jackson, including trademarks, copyrights, name, likeness and image.
These assets are owned by the late singer’s Estate for the benefit of his children and mother. The Court found that Mann and his entities improperly claimed to own the assets, and intended in bad faith to profit from them using his various websites. Zia Modabber, one of the lawyers who represents the Estate in this matter states “The Court’s ruling makes clear that Howard Mann had no right to use Michael Jackson’s intellectual property for his own benefit.” The Court ruled that Mann and his entities in fact do not own any of Michael Jackson’s intellectual property and should be permanently enjoined from unlawfully using Michael Jackson’s intellectual property in the future.
Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the Estate indicated that “The Court’s ruling means that a trial set for September 4, 2012 will involve how much in damages the Michael Jackson Estate is entitled to collect from Mann and his various entities.” The Executors of the Michael Jackson Estate are extremely pleased with the Court’s ruling which prevents Mann from continuing to unlawfully profit from Michael Jackson and his intellectual property.

http://www.showbiz411.com/2012/08/10/michael-jackson-estate-scores-a-major-win-in-court

 

[ivy]

August 10 Update

Document : http://www.scribd.com/doc/102574251/Mann-Mj-Estate-Partial-Summary-Judgement

Court has GRANTED the partial summary judgement request of MJ Estate.

As you know MJ Estate had filed their motion for summary judgement and Mann / Vaccaro had filed their oppositions for some and not all of Estate's requests.

Court found out that Estate has met burden of proof in regards to the following and granted them summary judgement

- Mann / Vaccaro's copyright infringement of the “This Is It” key art, “Destiny” song, and “Thriller” material, as well as for unfair competition and an accounting;
- Mann / Vaccaro cannot use DMCA (digital millennium copyright act) , contributory negligence, waiver, assumption of risk, unclean hands, statutes of limitations, and laches as defenses


Judge goes in detail examining the bankruptcy sale and who owns copyrights as well as the effect of the 2004 lawsuit.

- Court agrees that the bankruptcy sale sold only Debtors’ personal property, and did not transfer any rights, title, or interest to
Jackson’s intellectual property. the court finds that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to Jackson’s ownership of the intellectual property rights.

Court states during bankruptcy none of the Intellectual Property(IP) of Michael was listed as an asset and Katherine and Joe's statements isn't enough as it doesn't explain how they might have owned MJ's IP. Pease's deposition is just a speculation. Court continues to say that regardless of the ownership the bankruptcy sale wording does not transfer intellectual property.

- As for the 2004 lawsuit court says they are two different things as the 2004 lawsuit was about any infringement happening on of before 2004 and the current lawsuit is about post 2009 actions. Court also says none of the claims in 2004 lawsuit was litigated or decided and it doesn't mean just because MJ didn't proceed with the lawsuit it doesn't mean they got the ownership of the assets. Court says the 2004 lawsuit only protects Vaccaro from a past misconduct.

- Estate also wins of false designation of origin as MJ has unparalleled recognition, Mann's logo is a dance pose of Michael and Mann / Vaccaro are selling products related to Michael.

- Judge says it is undisputed that Defendants have used Jackson’s likeness in their corporate logo and advertisements without consent of Jackson’s estate

- There is undisputed evidence that Defendants intended in bad faith to profit from use of Jackson’s name, by registering multiple domain names containing his name or the initials “MJ” to sell Jackson-related products.

- the court finds that Plaintiffs are entitled to a permanent injunction against Defendants’ continued unlawful conduct. In addition, Defendants are unlikely to be able to pay damages, given their substantial outstanding debts. In light of Defendants’ past and present infringement, it is also undisputed that future violations are likely, causing ongoing harm to Plaintiffs and misled consumers.



[scribd]102574251[/scribd]

 

[ivy]

Updated story

Judge rules website violated Jackson copyrights
By ANTHONY McCARTNEY, AP Entertainment Writer – 42 minutes ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge ruled Friday that a businessman working with Michael Jackson's mother has violated copyrights owned by the singer's estate and should be blocked from future uses of the work.
U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson sided with the singer's estate in a ruling against Howard Mann and the website www.michaeljacksonsecretvault.com , which appeared to be inactive Friday morning.
The estate sued Mann in January 2011, claiming he was violating copyrights and posed unfair competition to Jackson's estate. Pregerson ruled that the website improperly used art from the film "This Is It," a logo featuring Jackson and the song "Destiny," as well as other material.
"In light of defendants' past and present infringement, it is also undisputed that future violations are likely, causing ongoing harm to plaintiffs and misled consumers," Pregerson wrote.
An upcoming trial will address damages, although the judge noted that Mann and the site probably will not be able to pay any amount because of debts.
A phone message for one of Mann's lawyers, Lee Durst, was not immediately returned Friday. Mann has collaborated with Katherine Jackson, who is a beneficiary of the singer's estate, on several projects, including a book of recollections about her son. Several of the Jackson Secret Vault releases occurred at the same time as estate projects were being released, including the anniversary of Jackson's death and the release of the album "Michael" in December 2010.
Mann's attorneys recently wrote in court filings that they hoped to introduce evidence during the upcoming trial that the singer's will was a fraud. The businessman had claimed he obtained rights to the works in a bankruptcy sale years ago, but Pregerson ruled there was no evidence that the items could be used commercially.
"The court's ruling makes clear that Howard Mann had no right to use Michael Jackson's intellectual property for his own benefit," attorney Zia Modabber, who represented the estate in the case, wrote in a statement. Estate attorney Howard Weitzman said executors John Branca and John McClain are "extremely pleased" by the ruling.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap...Xoenpg?docId=e35f5defa7cf4c1d9af18db78693e7a9

 

[Annie123]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Yay! Go estate!

 

[passy001]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

In addition, Defendants are unlikely to be able to pay damages, given their substantial outstanding debts.

I think that the Estate will want punitive damages just to make absolute sure that Mann will never ever profit from infringing on MJ stuff. something the Jack$ons should I have done with Conrad Murray.

 

[ivy]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Honestly who cares about the damages? Estate has established their intellectual property rights which means none of those assets can be uses , published or released without Estate's permission. That effectively stops any current and future business plans of Mann / Vaccaro.

 

[shelly_webster]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

So, we will have no fight over the Will?

 

[ivy]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

As of now trial is still gonna happen because there's still the damages and the issue of 5 drawings in the book. so we'll see how this one ends. but this is a huge huge win.

 

[shelly_webster]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

As of now trial is still gonna happen because there's still the damages and the issue of 5 drawings in the book. so we'll see how this one ends. but this is a huge huge win.

Yes, they almost won the trial and it's probably a huge wake up call for the Jacksons.

 

[Bubs]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Awesome news, well done:clapping:

"Zia Modabber, one of the lawyers who represents the Estate in this matter"
That means more than one lawyer is in this case. The estate pays their salary (over $500/hour) in order to protect their "boss" Michael's name, image, copy right etc issues. This is the case that didn't have to happen if Katherine had thought a little bit more about making a quick buck. I hope whatever money the estate used for this case, is taken away from Katherine's 40%, that should teach her to think before doing business with crooks.
I was wondering what happens when Mann loses the case in court and is made to pay?
As Katherine is Mann's business partner, I wonder will he ask Katherine to pay her share of the punitive damages or how it goes?
Funny thought, if Katherine has to go to executors to ask another loan so she could pay back her share what Mann is made to pay

 

[soulmum]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Absolutely delighted with this news.

 

[prismsagainst5live]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

can they appeal? worried this is not over.

 

[Bubs]

Court agrees that the bankruptcy sale sold only Debtors’ personal property, and did not transfer any rights, title, or interest to
Jackson’s intellectual property.

That means that they can have personal property, but they cannot use it for anything?

 

[ivy]

Judge: Michael Jackson's mother can't profit from merchandise line
August 10, 2012 | 1:44 pm


4
0


A federal judge rejected a novel legal argument Friday that would have allowed Michael Jackson's mother and her business partner to profit from a line of merchandise separate from the late star's estate.

In a 15-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson granted summary judgment in a copyright-infringement case brought by the executors of Jackson's estate and issued a permanent injunction barring Canadian entrepreneur Howard Mann from trading on the singer's name.

"There is undisputed evidence that Defendants intended in bad faith to profit from use of Jackson’s name, by registering multiple domain names containing his name or the initials 'MJ' to sell Jackson-related products," the judge wrote.

Mann and Jackson's mother, Katherine, collaborated on a coffee table book and calendar that were sold without the estate's authorization. The 82-year-old Jackson family matriarch received a cut of the profits and other money amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, Mann told The Times in 2010. Katherine Jackson said then that she needed the money and wanted estate executors John Branca and John McClain to "leave Howard alone."

Mann's lawyers had argued in court papers that his company, Vintage Pop, was forever immunized against lawsuits accusing it of exploiting Michael Jackson's intellectual property because of a ruling in a 2004 suit by the singer. Jackson had sued Vintage Pop for copyright infringement and other claims, but then refused to submit to a deposition and stopped paying his lawyers. A judge dismissed the case in 2006 "with prejudice" -- meaning Jackson couldn't bring the same claims against Vintage Pop again.

But in his ruling Pregerson wrote that the executors could sue Vintage Pop if their allegations were completely different than the ones Jackson made in the abandoned lawsuit.

"(A)ll of the misconduct alleged in this suit took place long after the 2004 action, and the claims from the two suits therefore do not arise from the same transactional nucleus of facts," the judge wrote.

A spokesman for the executors said in a statement that they were "extremely pleased with the Court's ruling," and noted that Michael Jackson's intellectual property is "owned by the late singer's Estate for the benefit of his children and mother."

The relationship between the Jackson family and the estate has been contentious, with three of the star's siblings claiming that the executors derive their power from a fraudulent will.

Mann's lawyers said they wanted to raise questions about the validity of the will at the trial, but estate lawyer Howard Weitzman said in a statement that the judge's ruling means that a planned September proceeding will focus on determining the financial damages sustained by the estate.

Mann did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...kson-mother-cant-profit-merchandise-line.html

 

[ivy]

can they appeal? worried this is not over.

yes they can appeal, everything can be appealed. however generally the chances of winning an appeal is low around 20-25%

Court agrees that the bankruptcy sale sold only Debtors’ personal property, and did not transfer any rights, title, or interest to
Jackson’s intellectual property.

That means that they can have personal property, but they cannot use it for anything?

Remember when they put Opis none song on their website and Weitzman said "Mann can listen to the songs at this home". It's similar, they can have the ownership of the physical items but can not release, publish, print them without Estate's approval & payment to Estate as they are the copyright owner.

 

[Victory22]

This is incredibly good news and makes my day. Good work MJ Estate in defending the King and slapping down the scumbags! I’ll bet Randy and Joe are banging their heads against the wall right now.

 

[AngieJ]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Great news!

 

[jaydom7]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Great News... so no more pimping books and belts without the estate's permission. Katherine should've been ashamed of herself for pimping that stuff out like that. She knew working with Howard Mann was dumb but she didn't care.

 

[marebear]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

This is great news. I don't care what anyone says but the estate is really protecting Michael's interests. This should be a sign to the Jacksons that they don't own Michael. Yes he was family but they can't just work with anyone and make books and belts and perfumes and drink etc. with Michael without the permission of the estate.

 

[kateclay]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Michael wanted his mother to have the money, I hate John McClain, and John Branca. Katherine is the mother of Michael NOT neither John is, I'm so ANGRY, God please help.

 

[Garden]

Re: MJ Estate Sues Howard Mann and business partner Henry Vaccaro

Michael wanted his mother to have the money, I hate John McClain, and John Branca. Katherine is the mother of Michael NOT neither John is, I'm so ANGRY, God please help.

@ kateclay : what are you trying to say now, is it that you still think Michael's Will is not valid? Or what is it that's not allright for/with you?