MJ related lawsuit updates – February 2016
This is a list about MJ related lawsuits. I added short summary of case description and latest developments in each case for ease of following. I will be updating this list every few months.
MJ Estate v. IRS (Link)
Description:This lawsuit is about the estate tax dispute. IRS is demanding $731 Million in estate tax. MJ Estate challenged IRS by filing a lawsuit.
Latest developments: After participating in settlement talks for over a year and filing three stipulation of settled issues, the case is put on the calendar of the tax court. Trial is scheduled for February 2017. Most of 2016 will be spent with discovery and trial preperation.
Noval Williams Films v. MJ Estate (Link)
Description: This is a dispute about “Last Photo Shoot” documentary. The documentary uses footage from two photo shoots from 2007. It also includes some photos. Estate believes some content are owned by MJ and MJ didn’t give consent for release of the footage. Noval Williams is seeking a declaratory relief that they aren’t infringing copyrights.
Latest developments: Case is ongoing at New York court. Estate responded with filing their counter claims to the complaint. Noval Williams Films request to dismiss some of Estate's counter claims were denied. Discovery has started and will continue until July 2016. Parties expect the trial to last 5 days. No trial date has been set yet (End of 2016/ early 2017 seems likely.) Next hearing is set for June 2016.