Defendants (AEG) Opening Statements
AEG attorney Putnam starts his opening statements by introducing other AEG lawyers. He mentions AEG, AEG Live, Phillips, Gongaware, Trell to the jury.
Putnam reminds the jury what he said during voir dire and look to the actual evidence and not the argument that is made. Putnam mentions he’s going to go through what he thinks the evidence will be and he’s going to show the jury the actual evidence.
Putnam says this case is about choices we make and with choices we make there’s a personal responsibility. He says this is also a case about what is public and what is private, what we show to the world and what we make sure the world never sees.
Putnam says the evidence will show that what is public and what is private were two very different words. He says the public Michael Jackson was very different that the private Michael Jackson. He says Michael erected a wall between himself and his family, his staff and people he worked with. Putnam mentions Michael was a child when he started his career and he had 40 years that he learned the cost of having things exposed to public and he knew very well how to ensure things did not come out in the public.
Putnam says all of this changed in June 25, 2009. He says Jackson said a lot of things in their opening statements about Defendants AEG going to show some ugly stuff and Putnam say it is true. He explains that AEG, Phillips and Gongaware were sued and as a result they need to find out what happened. Putnam says the jury will see it over the next months. He says it’s not a pretty picture and AEG will not rush into this courtroom to show it to the jury but they have to defend themselves.
Putnam talks about Michael’s death and calls it tragic and a big event. He compares it to Princess Diana dying, Kennedy and Martin Luther Kingbeing assassinated, Space shuttle blowing up. He says it was a big public event that people remember where they were, how they found out and what happened. He says the reason was because Michael was a huge public figure, extremely talented and lived in front of us all our lives.
Putnam says AEG thinks Michael’s death was tragic. He says Michael was the greatest entertainer, had 3 small children and a large extended family. He says it was tragic ending and Michael would live on forever. He talks about huge public mourning.
Putnam says it took months to learn how Michael died, first it was said he had a heart attack. Months later it turned out to be drugs but it wasn’t a drug people heard about before. He says Michael did not die of heroin or any painkillers or any of the other drugs associated with celebrity overdoses. He says Michael died of an overdose of Propofol. Putnam says the world – unless they were a medical professional- did not heard about Propofol before because it’s as anesthetic, given by trained people, in a hospital setting and generally during surgery. He says none of these were the case. Michael wasn’t in a hospital, wasn’t getting a surgery, he wasn’t with an anesthesiologist. Putnam says “as with Mr. Jackson’s life, Mr. Jackson’s death was anything but typical”.
He says because of these findings Michael’s death was reclassified as homicide and 2 years later Michael’s personal physician Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Putnam says Michael died behind locked doors in the privacy of his own bedroom in his home with security out front.
Putnam says before Murray was convicted Katherine Jackson sued AEG on behalf of herself and Michael’s kids. Putnam says Michael’s private world gradually came to light because of discovery in this lawsuit. Putnam says even though the world did not know about Propofol, Michael certainly did. He says that evidence will show that Michael had been using Propofol for years. Putnam says Jackson lawyers said it never happened before Murray was there and after AEG asked to pay. Putnam says evidence will show the truth that Michael abused Propofol for years and almost no one knew except the doctors that gave him the drug and the few other doctors that Michael asked for the drug and refused to give it to Michael.
Putnam says one of the doctors explained Michael that it was incredibly dangerous drug, it should be only given in a hospital setting by an anesthesiologist and it could kill him. Putnam says only few doctors – that who gave and who refused to give- knew about Michael’s Propofol abuse and as they are medical professionals and they are bound by privacy they never told anyone, they can’t. Putnam says neither AEG nor the public knew about Michael’s decade long Propofol abuse.
Putnam says AEG was an outsider as everyone else, they didn’t know what happened between Michael and his doctors, and they didn’t make Michael’s medical decisions. Putnam says evidence will show that there’s no way that they could have known. He says it’s because of nature of Propofol. He says it’s not a drug that you can look to people and say oh I think they must be on something. Putnam says the jury will hear people describe Propofol as a light switch, something you turn on and off. He says unless you see it happening, you can’t see someone later in the day and say they must have had Propofol earlier. Putnam says as Michael was not doing this when he was out with people, AEG had no way to see or know it.
Putnam says AEG is the concert promoter and they weren’t with Michael 24/7 and they weren’t always at rehearsals. It was the creative team that was at rehearsals. Putnam mentions the emails Jackson attorney showed the jury earlier and says you saw all the emails going out to AEG about what happened at rehearsal, Putnam it’s because AEG wasn’t there at rehearsals. Putnam says if they watched the evidence, rather than listening to what Jacksons attorneys told them, they would see that AEG immediately responded and they went to a meeting with Michael, his doctor and Ortega.
Putnam says Michael abused painkillers before and everyone knew about it as he announced it. He says Gongaware knew it too. He says after rehab to the world it appeared that Michael got better and he got cured. Putnam says Michael went on a world tour afterwards and there was never a reported problem of any kind. He says Gongaware, Ortega and Payne were all on that tour and all of them will say they saw no problems on that tour. Putnam says that was the public Michael Jackson. He says he continued to have problems on that tour but he didn’t show. Putnam says Michael even withdrew from his own family and even his family did not know what was going on at that time. Putnam says at various times Jacksons tried to do interventions but they failed. He says Michael was an addict and no matter how much you want to help an addict you can’t help them unless they want to help themselves. Putnam says the jury will hear Jacksons testify that Michael told them he was fine and they too thought it was true.
Putnam: “you can't blame him for that. Michael Jackson was an addict, and when you're an addict, you convince the world, and oftentimes even yourself, that you don't have a problem”
Putnam says regardless of the life long battle with painkillers Jacksons mentioned earlier, Michael did not die of painkillers – he died because of Propofol. Murray wasn’t giving him painkillers he was giving Propofol. And no one saw any red flags about that. Putnam says no one knew about Propofol. Not Michael’s mother, children or siblings. Not any of the staff working at the house or the people working on the tour.
Putnam: “the truth is, Mr. Jackson fooled everybody. He kept those who might have been able to help him at a distance, and he made sure that no one, nobody, knew his deepest, darkest secret.”
Putnam says even if someone thought there was a problem with painkillers, nothing about it would make you look and see Propofol was the problem.
Putnam says to the jury it is easy to look to things in retrospect but asks the jury to look to what people actually saw, knew and understood at the time – before June 25, 2009. Putnam says they will bring people to testify about what they actually saw and experienced from Michael’s mother, kids to people who worked for & with him. Putnam says this will show what people were actually seeing at that time, what they knew.
Putnam shows a rehearsal video from June 23rd which is 4 day after the events that worried Ortega (June 19) and 2 days before Michael’s death. He asks the jury to focus on Michael. He says this is what AEG saw. They heard problems of June 19, they wanted to make sure Michael was okay and went to the rehearsal and saw this. Putnam says there were things happening that people did not see and only Michael and his doctor knew. And by then it was too late.
Putnam takes the jury back to 2000s to help them understand what has happening in 2009. He says the early 2000s wasn’t a good time for Michael. He says Michael was accused of child molestation. Putnam twice makes a note that Michael was acquitted but says it didn’t make things easier. He says it was a horrible thing to happen in Michael’s life, talks about media frenzy. Putnam says after his acquittal Michael left the country, went to Middle East and stepped out of public eye.
Putnam says eventually Michael came back to USA with his kids and in 2007 he approached AEG about the idea of possibly touring. Putnam says evidence will show that Michael approached to AEG. Putnam says artists decide which concert promoter they would work with.
Putnam: “someone like Michael Jackson doesn't work for AEG. live; AEG. live is working for Michael Jackson.”
Putnam says the talks in 2007 didn’t end in anything because Michael wasn’t ready. He says in 2008 AEG was approached again and this time Michael appeared ready. He says Michael hadn’t toured over a decade and hadn’t released new music for some time. He says however Michael’s lavish lifestyle continued and he was a huge spender. He says public Michael Jackson was loaded and was spending millions on a lavish lifestyle. Putnam says the private Michael Jackson was like the most Americans, spending more than he’s making. He says that he did this by taking loans and by 2008 he was tapped out and he couldn’t take any more loans against his assets.
Putnam shows a slide that says Michael’s debt was $232.2 Million in 2001 and by the time of his death from 2007 to 2009 he was about $400 Million in debt. He says AEG knew Michael had financial difficulties but they didn’t know it was $400 Million. Putnam says Michael had debt and he knew he had to do something to bring in money. He says Michael decided to do what he does best – perform. He says Michael’s kids have not seen him perform so publicly this was the reason he told people why he was coming back. Putnam says the private reason Michael was performing because he needed the money.
Putnam says AEG is not the only company Michael approached. He says he approached other companies and Michael’s manager will testify to that. He mentions Dr. Tohme was the manager of Michael and not a doctor. Putnam says on the emails when someone says “bring the doctor” they are talking about Dr. Tohme. He also mentions Frank Dileo as Michael’s manager. Putnam also explains Michael changed managers, lawyers, assistants quite often.
Putnam starts talking about AEG Live, he says they aren’t a startup that only has one artist. He says they are doing amazing stuff such as right now they are doing Rolling Stones, Justin Bieber tour and they did Beyonce and Britney Spears tours. He says AEG also does residencies such as Celine Dion and Shania Twain. AEG also does festivals such as Stagecoach for country western music and Coachella.
Putnam: “this is a company that deals with really big artists. Not to say Michael Jackson was not in this constellation, of course he was, but this was not a make-it-or-break-it deal for AEG live.”
Putnam says even though every tour and residency is different, AEG is very productive. They advance the costs to an artist, artists later pay them back these advances and then they split the profits in some way. Putnam mentions what Jackson lawyers said regardless there’s a profit or not, they get paid back for the advances.
Putnam talks about the artists side, how they put together a show, how they decide who would be in the tour party, they put together the creative side. AEG helps organize and finance the show. He says Michael needed AEG to finance him the money. Putnam says AEG was excited aboutMichael Jackson and his comeback. He says AEG was cautiously optimistic because Michael had approached them a year earlier and he wasn’t ready then.
Putnam tells the jury about Randy Phillips and Paul Gongaware, he calls them Yin and Yang of AEG Live. He says Phillips is the person who deals with the artist. Putnam calls him a schmoozer and he’s very good at what he does. He says he’s not going to lie Phillips uses bad language and makes bad jokes such as “I’m going to throw him over my shoulder” (Putnam mentions that Phillips is actually short) and the jury can like him or hate him. Putnam then talks about Gongaware, says he doesn’t even have an office and he’s more of a behind the scenes type of person. He says Gongaware works with the production people, creative visions and he’s on the road.
Putnam says when Michael reached out to AEG in 2008, he reached out the Phillips and Gongaware. Putnam says Phillips had never worked with Michael but he was excited to do the shows. He says Gongaware was dying to do the shows because he worked with Michael before and he believed Michael was genius, he was smart, he was a perfectionist and he loved Michael.
Putnam (talking about Gongaware): “he loved the idea of helping Mr. Jackson create his vision of what he could give his fans in the comeback tour. He believed Mr. Jackson only cared about getting it right and putting on a better show than his fans thought were possible. He was very excited.”
Putnam says Gongaware didn’t work with Michael for a long time. He says when Gongaware worked on Dangerous tour 20 years ago he wasn’t working for Michael Jackson and during that entire tour he never even met Michael Jackson. Putnam says Gongaware didn’t have the position he has now. He says Gongaware did the travel arrangements for the crew on that tour. That was it. Gongaware later worked on the History tour and at that tour he was promoted a little bit and he ended up working with Michael. Putnam says Jackson lawyers said Gongaware calling Michael “Mikey” was derogatory but that’s actually what Gongaware called Michael for a long time. Gongaware said on his deposition by the end of History tour he knew Michael so well and Michael asked him to come work for him”. Putnam tells that there were no problems in History tour. The only concert cancelled was when Princess Diana died. Putnam says people will testify that by all accounts History tour was a very successful tour and Gongaware worked with a clean, capable and creative genius and that’s who he expected to see in 2008. He says when Gongaware talked to Michael in 2008, he was ready, excited and invigorated.
Putnam talks about how Michael’s people and AEG finalized the deal over fall 2008, how they decided for residency, how they choose London. He says at that time they had no idea about the demand so although they agreed to up to 31 shows they did not announce that. They announced 10 initially to see the interest and later they would have increased it to 31 if there was interest. Putnam talks about the advances AEG made to Michael, money given for his debt, lawsuits and how AEG got a place to live for Michael as a part of the agreement. He says it was Michael’s manager who picked the house – not AEG- and AEG just advanced him the money for the house. He says they signed the contract at Michael’s house with his lawyers present and there’s evidence that Michael said he read the whole contact and went through it with his lawyers. Putnam says Michael said he was incredibly excited and can’t wait to move forward. Putnam says AEG was also excited about Michael’s comeback. He says there was no requirements about rehearsals, the agreement were about shows. Putnam says creative side has nothing to do with AEG. They say an artist can rehearse every day if they want or if they don’t want to rehearse they don’t have to. He says it’s up to the artist what the show is going to be like and how they put it on.
Putnam says Jacksons will tell that the contract was a bad deal for Michael. He goes over the agreement. He says AEG advanced funds to Michael that he would have to pay back and any profits were split 90 /10. Putnam says initially the budgeted promotion costs were $7.5 Million but these increased because when the tickets went to sale they knew there was an audience to see Michael and they can recover these costs. Production costs include the costs for the personnel. Putnam says so when Michael said he wanted to bring his doctor, AEG added a line for it to budget for it. Putnam tells the jury the salaries for Orianthi, Ortega, Payne were all being advanced by AEG and they have been selected by Michael for the tour. Putnam says it was Michael Jackson’s money they were putting in a trust for him and Michael has to pay it back. Putnam says if they are going to advance money to pay for Michael’s personal physician, they need to know how much it will be.
Putnam talks about evidence will show for example Michael told Gongaware he wanted Travis Payne and he wanted Gongaware to try to make that happen, to be done. Putnam says it doesn’t mean it just happens because Michael said “I want him”, he says Michael had to sign off on it, the amount of money. Putnam talks about an email fron Gongaware sent to Ortega and cc’d to Frank Dileo. The email is talking about paying Ortega and Ortega is complaining it wasn’t finished yet. Gongaware writes “This is not AEG money, it’s MJ’s money”. Putnam says it takes a while to get consensus and approvals every time things change. Putnam says this is how Gongaware understood it. It was Michael’s money and even after he finds the person Michael wants he needs to get a final approval on it.
Putnam says the contract was signed January 26th, 2009. In February 2009 Michael had to get a physical. Putnam says this is not because anyone had any concerns about Michael. He says its standard procedure to get insurance. Putnam says Jacksons will try to argue that this physical was done because AEG was worried about Michael. Putnam says that’s not the case and they will have evidence to show it that it is required for non appearance insurance. Putnam explains what the insurance is for and how the insurance pays if a date doesn’t happen due to sickness. He says the insurance is actually covering Michael Jackson and he doesn’t have to pay when there’s a non appearance.
Putnam says the insurance broker choose Dr. Slavit – not AEG or Michael- and the jury will hear about the insurance physical. Putnam says AEG believes this was a complete physical with blood work and Dr. Slavit determined Michael was healthy, he saw no signs of drug use. Putnam says in February 2009 Michael also told Dr. Slavit that he had a long-term personal physician Conrad Murray.
Putnam mentions Jacksons lawyer talking about Michael only seeing Murray 7 times. Putnam says seeing a physician 7 times in a 2 and half years is a fair number and qualifies for a personal physician. Putnam says there are other times Michael saw Murray that’s not on the Jackson’s list. Putnam says for example Murray gave Michael a physical several months before Dr. Slavit’s physical and it’s not listed in the 7 times. Putnam says Dr.Slavit will testify about what Michael told him about Murray. Putnam says this is important because AEG did not hear about Murray until months later. However Murray arrived to Los Angeles in Michael’s direction and was treating Michael long before AEG heard about him. Putnam says this is also important because Dr. Slavit did not tell them about Murray in February 2009 because of doctor / patient privacy. He says AEG could not know what happened , what was said between Dr. Slavit and Michael Jackson. He says the only thing AEG knew was Michael had a physical and he passed with flying colors. They learned these additional information during discovery phase of this lawsuit.
Putnam says this is also important for jury to understand what AEG understood in 2009. In 2009 Michael was engaged, ready, interested and he had a physical and the doctor said he was healthy. Putnam says in February 2009 they started to get ready for the sale of the tickets and the announcement. He says Michael was fully engaged. He says Michael worked on the small TV spot that aired in UK. Putnam talks about the press announcement. He says it was a frantic day. He tells the jury they have to remember Michael left the world stage years before and gone through a trial. He says no one knew what the response was going to be. He says this was Michael’s first step and he was incredibly nervous. Putnam says it is understandable that Michael was extremely nervous that day. He says the jury will hear the context of what actually happened that day.
Putnam says the sales were like wildfire and the response was incredible. He says they saw they could easily sell much more than the 10 shows they announced. Putnam says AEG went to Michael and asked if he would do more and Michael said to them he would do 50 shows. He says Michael told them he wanted to be in the Guinness World Records and told them to have Guinness at the 50th show .
Putnam says the jury will hear testimony that Michael was a clinch performer and there was a lot of drama before a performance happened. Would he get up on the stage? Putnam says Gongaware and other people will testify to that drama, buildup, attention, excitement. He says however when Michael got on the stage, he performed.
He says after the ticket sales began and the shows increased to 50, Michael starts working immediately. Michael holds strategic planning sessions, production special effects and so on. He went to a movie studio, worked on the special effects. He also started to put his tour team together. He asked for Ortega, Payne and so on. Putnam says Michael worked on the website for the show. Ortega came in as the co-creative director and they came up with a reasonable schedule for Michael to rehearse. Payne came back and started to work with Michael. They worked on the old numbers, Payne says those were old hat for Michael and he got them back. They started working on new moves for the concert. Putnam talks again about Michael choosing his own people and getting Karen Faye despite the fact someone said I’m not sure if you want to have her.
Putnam says this was what was going on at January, February and March of 2009. Michael was fully engaged. He says it is important for the jury to put everything together because there will be only 2 bad days. He says AEG went to Michael to make sure everything was all right. He says Michael was active, he was doing well at rehearsals, he was working on mini movies. The nerves, jitters Phillips have seen during the announcement were gone. Early May or late April Michael would tell AEG that he wanted to bring his personal physician to tour for him and his kids. This is the first time AEG heard about Murray. Gongaware was told by Michael that Murray was going to join them and his job was to find out how much it will cost. Putnam says according to the agreement Michael was not required to say “Hi. Can I do this?”, Michael said “Hi. I’m doing this, go figure out how much it costs”.
Putnam says Gongaware did not question Michael’s request, did not tell him no you can’t have your doctor. He says Gongaware pushed back and said why? Why are you bringing your doctor? We are going to London. You don’t need to bring your doctor. This is not like a tour where getting medical care might be a little difficult. This is London. They have great doctors.
Putnam: “Mr. Jackson said, yeah, i do. I'm bringing the family doctor with me. I'm bringing the man who i choose, who has been caring for me for years, not somebody else.”
Putnam mentions how Jackson lawyers mentioned AEG should have known better. Putnam says having a doctor on tour wasn’t a red flag. There were doctors on previous tours and it made sense as Michael was a 50 year old man and was bringing his children with him for a year in London. Putnam says despite Gongaware pushing back, Michael was having none of it and wanted his doctor. Gongaware said okay and he went and talked to Murray. Gongaware found out in that talk Murray had 4 practices , 4 successful practices that he would shut down. Murray said it would cost a lot to shut down these practices and asked for $5 Million. Gongaware said no a chance, not going to happen and ended the call. Putnam says the reason was it was Michael Jackson’s money and he wouldn’t pay $5 Million for this.
Putnam says Gongaware then talked to Phillips saying that Michael wanted to bring a doctor to London and it’s crazy. Phillips went and talked to Michael and said he doesn’t need a doctor, some of the best doctors are in London. Putnam says Michael repeated that it was his choice who he wanted and he wanted his doctor. Putnam says the jury will hear colorful language about Michael being the machine in the center of the show and the machine needs to be taken care of and he wanted his doctor there.
Michael instructed Gongaware to offer $150,000 a month so Gongaware made another call to Murray. Gongaware offered Murray the money and Murray started to say no. Gongaware interrupted him and said this amount came directly from Michael. Putnam says $150,000 a month was what Michael willing to pay for Murray. Putnam says this was followed by a series of conversations among attorneys and people talking about terms and what should be and should not be in the contract. He talks about the June 15, June 18 and June 24th draft agreements.
Putnam says he doesn’t understand what finding the contract and Phillips business card in his car proved. He says that only shows that Murray signed the June 24th draft. Putnam tells the jury they need to look to the whole agreement and says it starts with “at Artist’s request”. He says this is how it happened. It wasn’t something AEG mandated, it was something Michael wanted. He says the draft says Murray “acts as Michael’s general practitioner”. Putnam says the contract doesn’t say he will be, it says he is. The draft says Murray was already working for Michael. Putnam shows the jury the part about the “artist consent”. Putnam says this is the finalizing part he talked about before. He says before it could happen Michael had to finalize it expressly and in writing. Putnam reads the part that say “on behalf and at the expense of undersigned”. He says the undersigned isMichael Jackson. He says Michael or AEG did not sign it.
Putnam says no one has any idea if Michael would approve it and take Murray on tour. Putnam says it’s not important and what jury sees is that there’s no contract and it was at Michael’s expense not AEG’s. Putnam says AEG budgeted for Murray but they never paid him as Michael did not do the final approval. Putnam says the evidence will show that any payments to Conrad Murray came from Michael.
Putnam talks about Murray’s June 27, 2009 interview with the police to explain his understanding of the agreement. Putnam says this is Murray’s understanding of who he worked for. Putnam says AEG is not denying that they would have paid Murray, they were advancing it and Michael was responsible for it.
Putnam mentions Gongaware’s emails and he gets thousands of emails and he doesn’t remember them all. Putnam points out Gongaware writing “we’ve asked to speak with Mr. Jackson’s doctor” and asks the jury if Murray was working for AEG would they have to ask to see him. Putnam asks the jury to look the language and it’s not the language for someone who is working for AEG.
Putnam asks the jury to pay attention to the emails and what they are writing in them. They talk about nourishment, massages and physical therapy. He says no one is mentioning problems with drugs or Propofol. He says none of the things mentioned in the emails are red flags. Putnam then starts talking about “trouble at the front” emails and Jackson attorneys painted them like AEG did nothing. He says AEG did not sit there and do nothing. Putnam says AEG wasn’t at the rehearsals so they didn’t see these. He says the jury saw Phillips and Gongaware responding “where was his doctor?”. Putnam says they are asking what is going on. Putnam asks the jury to note that no one is talking about drugs and they are thinking there might be a psychological problem like is he afraid. Putnam says AEG arranges a meeting the next day with Michael to make sure that he’s okay.
Putnam says Murray is also at the meeting and points out no one think there’s a problem with the doctor. He reminds the jury that this was 2009 and no one knew what was Murray doing then. Putnam says Michael, Murray, Ortega and Phillips was at this meeting to assess what happened. They confront Michael and ask “ are you okay, is everything all right”. Putnam says the testimony will show that Michael did not tell them I can’t do this, I need a delay. He says the testimony will show that Michael looked great and seemed okay. Putnam says Murray tells in that meeting “you are overreacting. Stop being amateur psychiatrists. I'm the doctor here. You guys go and be concert promoters. You be a concert director. I'll be the doctor. It's okay.”
Putnam says AEG had no reason to not to believe Murray, there was nothing to show that Murray wasn’t telling them the truth. He says AEG told Michael to take the next couple of days off and rest. They didn’t rehearse for several day. June 23rd Michael comes back to rehearse and he’s spectacular. Putnam says AEG was there to watch to make sure that Michael was okay. He says this idea that AEG did not care is not true. He says they went to Michael’s house to make sure he’s okay, they talked to his doctor to make sure he’s okay and they went to the rehearsal to watch him and make sure he’s okay. Putnam says everyone will tell the jury that he was better than okay. It was the best they have seen him. They will say the same thing about June 24th as well. Putnam plays a rehearsal clip to the jury.
He says on June 24th Phillips walked Michael to his car and Michael thanked him and said you got me here, now I’m ready and I can take it from here. Putnam says less than 24 hours later Michael was dead.
Putnam states that they did not see this coming. They had no idea. Putnam starts talking about what we learned after June 25th. He says in 1993 Michael announced the world he had a problem with painkillers and went to rehab. He says publicly people thought the rehab worked. He says that Michael was secretive about his painkiller addiction. Michael was getting drugs from doctors. Putnam says there was usually a plausible reason for drug use. For instance Michael would have a minor cosmetic procedure but would get the same painkiller he would get for surgery. Outsiders will think he got the painkillers because he was having a procedure. Second doctors were bound by doctor – patient confidentiality. Even when they were concerned that Michael was using too much painkillers, they couldn’t tell anybody. The most they can do is to refuse to treat Michael further and Michael always found someone else.
Putnam says Michael was back and forth on and off painkillers and he was very secretive about it. He says Michael did not even tell his doctors about the procedures he was receiving from other doctors. Putnam shows a chart of the doctors they were able to identify and he says they believe there were many other doctors. Putnam says Dr. Metzger will testify that he was concerned that Michael had different doctors in different places and Michael wouldn’t tell him about these other doctors and what they were giving him. Putnam says Dr. Van Valin in 2001 gave Michael a Demerol shot for back pain and noticed a spot of blood on Michael’s shirt. He suspected Michael had another shot of Demerol the same day. He said to Michael he can’t double up and it could kill him. Dr. Van Valin stopped treating Michael shortly after this event. Putnam says Dr. Samuel from Santa Inez Valley College Hospital will tell them the same thing.
Putnam says Michael tried to get better but later he just tried to keep it a secret and distanced himself from everyone. He says they knew about the 1993 rehab but they learned about the 2002 rehab during discovery for this case. Putnam says the jury will hear from Mike Laperruque – a bodyguard of Michael. He says Laprerruque found Michel passed out at a hotel at Disneyworld in 2002 and Michael’s own children had to call 911. It was this time Michael went back to rehab. Putnam says it was an outpatient rehab and Dr. Alimorad Farschcian was helping Michael. Putnam says Dr. Farschcian went so far as to put an implant in Michael to help him stop using painkillers. He says as a result Michael was better and drug free in 2002 and 2003.
Putnam says it looked like Michael turned a corner but then the horrible child molestation accusations and criminal trial happened. He says the jury will hear evidence that Michael went to another doctor to get the implant removed and after that asked for painkillers. Putnam says the jury will hear from Michael’s family that there was a wall they can’t get beyond. They will try to stage interventions, Michael would refuse to admit he has a problem, refuse to go to rehab and he was very very convincing even with his own family. Putnam says the jury will hear from Michael’s own family members that would say they don’t believe he ever had a problem after 1993 or they believed he seemed fine and did not need intervention.
Putnam: “this is his own family. Certainly, others outside had no idea what was going on. If they didn't believe it, how could someone else think there was even a problem?”
Putnam says Michael became really good in hiding his addiction. He says even Michael was abusing painkillers in private, Propofol was even more private. Putnam says Jackson attorney said Propofol was something that happened after Murray came into the picture but that’s not true. Putnam says the jury will see that sometime in the 1990s with the help of the doctors Michael started to use Propofol to help him sleep. He says this was a big secret. So big secret that before this lawsuit no one knew, not even Michael’s regular doctors. His family didn’t know. Karen Faye didn’t know. People that worked with him for year, 20 years did not know. His mother did not know. His children did not know. His security guards did not know. His staff did not know. AEG did not know.
Putnam says Debbie Rowe knew about it. He says before she married to Michael, she was Klein’s nurse. Putnam says they don’t know why or how but early 90s Michael started to use Propofol in connection with surgical procedures. Putnam says Rowe will testify that she saw several doctors get Michael to sleep with Propofol in hotel rooms while on tour. She remembers Michael being given Propofol in Munich, London and Paris. Rowe said she knew it was dangerous and she would always insist on being on his side and made sure there were two anesthesiologist there to make sure Michael woke up.
Putnam says this was Michael’s biggest secret and over the years Michael secretly sought out Propofol from several providers. Putnam says the jury will also hear that Michael even asked for it during routine treatments like having his teeth cleaned at the dentist. He says whenever a doctor told him it was dangerous or refused to give it to him, he found another doctor. Putnam says Dr. Quinn a dental anesthesiologist will testify. He says Dr. Quinn met Michael during a dental procedure he received Propofol in the late 90s. Shortly after the procedure Michael called Dr. Quinn and asked her to meet with at Bel Air hotel. Michael was there with his son Prince who was 2 years old. He left Prince with Dr. Quinn’s sister and talked to Dr. Quinn in private. He asked Dr. Quinn for Propofol, not for any procedure but to help him sleep. Dr. Quinn refused and told Michael it’s not true sleep and told him it’s not proper to give it outside medical setting.
Putnam says Dr. Van Valin will testify to something similar. He says in 2002 or 2003 Michael asked Dr. Van Valin if he would give Michael Propofol to sleep. Michael told Dr. Van Valin that he had a box of Propofol at Neverland and he used it all those years between shows. Michael showed the box and the bottles of Propofol to Dr. Van Valin. Dr. Van Valin refused and warned Michael. He told Michael the drug was dangerous and only place it should be used is in an operating room and told him without proper monitoring he could die.
Putnam says this was Michael’s best kept secret and the doctors could not tell it to anyone because of doctor – patient confidentiality. Putnam again reminds the jury that Propofol is like an on / off switch and you couldn’t see it happening unless you were there when it happened.
Putnam says the evidence will show that Michael did not turn Murray for Propofol , he turned to others. Murray was his family doctor. He says Debbie Rowe will testify that Michael always used an anesthesiologist for Propofol. Putnam says Michael asked Dr. Metzger for Propofol and he said no. He asked Cherilyn Lee and she said absolutely not. They both warned Michael. Cherilyn Lee said “Frankly I’m telling you this Mr. Jackson. The bottom line, this is death. Don’t do this. Death”.
Putnam says Michael went on and did it anyway. He says the evidence will show Murray was ordering Propofol in April , before AEG ever heard of Murray he was already treating Michael. Putnam says Murray hid the Propofol in the house so it can’t be seen. Putnam shows the jury floor plans of Carolwood house. Putnam tells no one was allowed in Michael’s bedroom not even housekeeping and staff because Michael was hiding what was going on in his bedroom from everyone. Putnam says Michael’s children who saw him everyday did not know he was using Propofol. He says they couldn’t know because he was back there in a locked room, only Murray was allowed.
Putnam says the evidence will show that there was no way that AEG could have found out what was going on. There’s no way they could know what Murray was doing. Neither Michael nor Murray was telling about Propofol.
The last 4 minutes AEG lawyer Putnam wants to do quick reminder to the jury
- Phillips never worked with Michael before
- Last time Gongaware worked with Michael was History tour when Michael seemed perfectly healthy
- Nothing remarkable about Michael was taking a doctor with him
- It was Michael’s choice not theirs
- A physical was done and he passed with flying colors
- He was showing at rehearsal and were doing great
- Other than one time on June 19 there never seemed to be a problem
Putnam says it wasn’t for AEG to look into Murray. He says personal doctors are a person’s choice. Putnam says you don’t do background check on doctors. Putnam says Murray said he was licensed in 4 states and that was true.
Putnam says if AEG looked they would see two suspensions, one for not returning a phone call for an hour and the other time was because he didn’t file some paperwork. He says this would what AEG found out if they dug. He says there was no history of misconduct in any of the states, not a single medical problem noted in his background. Putnam says having financial problems does not make a person not competent. Putnam says there might be lots of reasons why a person might have financial problems, it doesn’t mean they aren’t a good doctor.
Putnam tells the jury that it will be weeks and weeks before he speaks to them again and asks them to wait till the end. He asks them not to rush to judgment until everything is said. He says the judge will tell them what the law is.
Putnam tells the jury this case is about negligent hiring and the jury will decide whether Murray was ever hired to go on the tour and who hired him , was it Michael Jackson or AEG. Then Putnam wants the jury to go further and determine if he was hired was it negligent. He wants the jury to ask themselves if there was actual evidence that Phillips, Gongaware or AEG ever knew or should have known Murray was harming Michael Jackson. Putnam wants the jury to look to the claim of money damages. He says the thinks there aren’t any damages and will talk about it during the course of the trial.
Putnam shows the jury the statement of damages provided to them by Jacksons and it has $40.2 Billion listed. Putnam says they asked Jacksons what are the damages, what are you claiming and this is the statement they sent to them. They sent them these damages in December 2012 for $40.2 Billion. Putnam says today that figure has changes but it is still in the billions. He tells the jury to look very carefully to damages, if there are any damages and if they can be that big.
Putnam ends his opening statement reminding the jury about personal choices and personal responsibility.
Putnam: “there's no question that Michael Jackson’s death was a terrible tragedy. There's none. And i don't think anyone would say otherwise. For his family, his children, and certainly for his fans, it's horrible. But i believe the evidence will show you it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making, and that's what the evidence has to prove.”
Putnam ends by saying he believes that evidence will show that you can’t blame Phillips, Gongaware for this tragedy.