Posted by Michael Jackson Trust Must Defend Suit Over $48 Million in Fees July 31 (Bloomberg) — A trust formed by Michael Jackson will have to defend a $48 million lawsuit by a financial adviser that claims it helped the singer secure a loan that rescued his stake in publishing rights to Beatles’ songs. U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in New York said today that Prescient Acquisitions Group Inc. presented enough evidence to go ahead with a breach-of-contract suit against one of Jackson’s trusts. [b]He dismissed a claim against Jackson.[/b] Prescient “asserts sufficient facts to survive the motion to dismiss,” Castel said. Prescient, based in New Jersey, sued Jackson and two trusts last July, saying the entertainer owed $48 million in fees. Prescient said it helped Jackson find investors in 2004 to help him pay off a $272.5 million debt to Bank of America, part of which was secured by the Beatles catalog he owned. In April, Jackson, struggling to stave off bankruptcy, gave Sony Corp. an option to buy half of his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, allowing him to refinance about $300 million of loans.
The catalog, which includes songs from Bob Dylan and John Mayer, is worth more $1 billion. Jackson bought the catalog 21 years ago, outbidding Beatle Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono. Jackson currently lives in Bahrain. Jackson’s lawyer, L. Londell McMillan, and Prescient’s attorney, Eric Rosenberg, didn’t immediately return calls. The suit is Prescient v. MJ Publishing Trust, 05-CV-6298, Southern District of New York. Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aEqvcYYsZQqM