Jacksons vs AEG - Day 87 – September 26 2013 – Summary
Closing arguments wrapped with Jackson rebuttal closing.
Source: HLN is live-blogging closing arguments. Read below for minute-by-minute updates from the trial
1:00 p.m. ET: Jackson family attorney Brian Panish is now addressing jurors. His rebuttal closing argument is expected to take about two hours. Jurors should begin deliberating the case after that.
1:03 p.m. ET: "How dare them" [AEG Live] not take responsibility and point all the fingers at Michael Jackson, said Panish.
1:05 p.m. ET: "That’s all they care about – putting on a concert, making money. They don’t care about Michael Jackson," said Panish. "They didn't want to help Michael do a comeback. They wanted Michael so they could make money."
1:07 p.m. ET: Panish asks jurors if they are going to let AEG Live "get away with it." He says AEG Live has rows and rows of lawyers.
"They want you to not like Michael. Is that what this case is about?" said Panish. "Michael paid the ultimate price -- he's not here anymore."
1:09 p.m. ET: "They [AEG Live] think they can hoodwink you. That’s why we’re here – otherwise we wouldn’t be here," said Panish.
1:11 p.m. ET: "This is the only place where there’s a level playing field," said Panish who also claims that the Jackson family couldn't compete with the huge company without going to court.
1:16 p.m. ET: Panish says the jurors get to decide whether to believe all, part or none of what a witness has said when testifying -- "You decide."
1:19 p.m. ET: Panish plays the video of AEG Live executives testifying again. It is edited together so they say "I don't know" or "I don't recall" several times.
"Those are the people they want you to base your verdict on."
1:24 p.m. ET: Panish is playing interviews from the "This Is It" movie and comparing them to testimony. He says that before lawyers were involved, AEG Live said Jackson was the world's best entertainer and that he sold a record-breaking number of tickets for the upcoming tour.
1:27 p.m. ET: Parts of the rehearsal footage was edited out of the "This Is It" movie because it showed Jackson looking too thin, according to Panish. He says this proves AEG Live should have known something was wrong with the star.
1:30 p.m. ET: Panish says AEG Live executives wanted singers and band members from the tour to "keep it positive" when speaking of Jackson and not describe him as looking frail and emaciated.
"We control all the footage and it’s locked in a vault at Staples Center," said an AEG Live executive in an e-mail when someone expressed concerns about Jackson being filmed while looking frail.
1:38 p.m. ET: Jackson was supposed to go on a world tour after his shows in London, according to Panish. He's asking for $1 billion to $2 billion to make up for some of the money the family would have received from this tour. He says AEG Live is denying that Jackson was supposed to do this world tour. An investigator says he heard an AEG employee say the London shows were just the beginning and the world tour would last several years, according to Panish.
1:41 p.m. ET: Panish says it's hot and takes a quick water break.
1:43 p.m. ET: Both AEG Live and Jackson could have hired Murray, according to Panish. AEG Live says Jackson was solely responsible for hiring the doctor.
1:46 p.m. ET: "They’re trying to tell you the sky’s not blue. They’re trying to sell ice to people in Alaska. If you’re going to fall for that, I think you’re going to disregard all the evidence," said Panish.
1:49 p.m. ET: Murray was under the impression he was hired by AEG Live, according to Panish. He also says it's common for people in this industry to create an oral agreement and then work on a written contract later. If they always waited for the written contract to start working, then Panish says business would never get done.
1:54 p.m. ET: Panish says AEG Live saw the train wreck coming and, instead of stopping the train, they put more coal in it to keep it going.
1:58 p.m. ET: The judge has recessed court for a short break, asking everyone to return at 2:15 p.m. ET.
2:17 p.m. ET: Court is back in session.
2:19 p.m. ET: "[The] death of someone doesn’t ever go away. It reverberates throughout your entire life... time does not heal all the wounds. That's why there's an enormous loss in this case," said Panish.
2:21 p.m. ET: Dr. Murray was "morally unfit," according to Panish. He says Murray didn’t pay his bills, including child support for the many children he had.
2:25 p.m. ET: "Everyone had a concern" about Murray being Jackson's doctor, according to Panish. "They all knew something was wrong."
2:30 p.m. ET: "The doctor's duty is to the patient," said Panish who points out that Murray shut down his practice and stopped seeing all his patients in 10 days for money. "Would a fit and competent doctor dump everybody in 10 days, for money?"
2:35 p.m. ET: Panish says AEG Live sent Murray a written contract after Jackson stopped showing up to rehearsals. "You think that's a coincidence?"
2:40 p.m. ET: Panish says propofol may not be the "best idea" but, if you have a competent doctor, you shouldn't die.
2:43 p.m. ET: In April, before he died, Jackson wanted to try natural remedies for insomnia because he was "desperate to sleep," according to Panish.
2:47 p.m. ET: Any postponement of the tour would cost Murray $150,000/month, according to Panish. The director of the show told Murray to "stay in his lane" and stop keeping Jackson from rehearsals.
"Murray was more interested in keeping the show going than keeping his patient alive," said Panish.
2:51 p.m. ET: Panish is playing another clip from the "This Is It" movie.
2:55 p.m. ET: Panish is showing e-mails from AEG Live executives over clips from the "This Is It" movie. The e-mails describe Jackson being thrown into a cold shower, slapped and being a mess.
2:58 p.m. ET: "He was being pressured, he could lose everything he had," said Panish about Jackson. "He wanted to do this -- not only for his children but he had financial issues and he wanted to make money for his children. He was going to give them everything."
3:03 p.m. ET: Panish says Jackson never had any issues until the burn injuries he suffered while filming a Pepsi commercial. "He didn't want to take the medication to get high -- he took it for pain."
3:05 p.m. ET: Panish puts up a pie chart, showing how much responsibility each side has for Jackson's death -- 20% for Jackson and 80% for AEG Live.
3:07 p.m. ET: "The fate of Prince Michael, Paris, Blanket and Katherine Jackson is in your hands and I know you’ll do the right thing," said Panish as he concludes his rebuttal closing argument.
The judge has dismissed the court for lunch until 4:30 p.m. ET.