Michael Jackson's estate loses $1bn wrongful death lawsuit

The jury has cleared concert promoter A.E.G. Live over the alleged wrongful death of pop icon Michael Jackson.

11:05 03 October 2013

Michael Jackson’s family has failed in a bid to force concert promoter A.E.G. Live to pay them more than $1 billion in damages after they claimed that the promoter was responsible for the singer’s untimely death in 2009.

The singer died at the age of 50 in Los Angeles in June 2009 before he was due to begin a series of 50 concerts at London’s 02 arena. The This Is It Tour was supposed to mark the singer’s comeback after years of not being active in the entertainment industry, however the Beat It musician suddenly dies prior to the gigs.

Jackson’s personal physician, Dr Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 and jailed. He gave Jackson a lethal dose of a powerful surgical anaesthetic called propofol to help him overcome his chronic insomnia.

The singer's mother Katherine Jackson, 83, and his three children Prince, 16, Paris, 15 and Blanket, 11, had sued A.E.G. claiming that the promoter was negligent and that it ignored signs that the singer was in poor health.

However, on Wednesday, a California jury cleared A.E.G. in the untimely death of the singer. This decision will leave Jackson’s family with substantial legal cost.