Paris Jackson has suffered a major setback in her legal battle against her late father Michael Jackson’s estate, as a court ruling dealt a blow to her claims.
Los Angeles Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff struck most of Paris Jackson’s complaint Monday under California’s anti-SLAPP law, leaving only a small portion intact.
The statute was created in response to the “many lawsuits brought primarily to chill the valid exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and petition for the redress of grievances” through “abuse of the judicial process,” per the California Anti-SLAPP project.
A spokesperson said she plans to refile her petition.
“This order is limited to minor procedural issues and does not change the facts: the pattern of behavior displayed by the executors and their attorneys raises significant red flags, and Paris will continue working to ensure her family is treated fairly. We will be submitting an updated filing shortly,” Paris’ spokesperson told us Thursday.
Paris Jackson filed her petition in June, alleging concerns over her father’s estate making unapproved “bonus” payments to law firms, including $625,000 in 2018, according to court documents.
“These payments appear, at least in part, to consist of lavish gratuities bestowed upon already well-compensated counsel,” the court docs claimed in part.
It was disclosed in an October 9 filing that Paris had been granted $65 million in benefits from her father’s estate.
Notably, the estate executors also claimed that they were responsible for transforming the King of Pop’s estate, making it worth $2 billion.
