$17.5M Insurance Lawsuit Between Michael Jackson’s Estate And Lloyd’s Of London Settled; Conrad Murray’s Appeal Rejected

Michael Jackson’s estate and Lloyd’s of London settled a lawsuit on Wednesday in Los Angeles over a $17.5 million insurance policy for the late King of Pop’s London comeback concert.

Lloyd’s had sued Jackson’s estate in 2011 stating that the company is not liable to pay the policy amount as neither Jackson nor his team revealed the singer’s use of drugs, while Jackson’s estate counter-sued the insurance company for breach of contract.

According to reports, Howard Weitzman, an attorney of Jackson's estate, said: “The estate and Lloyd's of London are glad this matter got resolved.” The terms of the settlement remain undisclosed. The trial had been reportedly scheduled for Feb. 24.

Lloyd’s had initially included Jackson’s concert promoter, AEG Live LLC, in the lawsuit but the latter was removed from the case in 2012, after leaked emails proved that the company too was concerned about the singer’s health.

In another case, Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray’s appeal of his sentence was rejected on Wednesday by a three-judge panel of the California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal who condemned the doctor’s behavior.

Murray was sentenced to four years in prison in 2011 for the singer’s death from an overdose of the anesthetic, propofol, commonly known as Diprivan that was prescribed to Jackson by Murray. Murray has already served two years in prison, and was reportedly let out for good behavior, when he appealed the sentence stating that there was insufficient proof of his guilt.

The judges on Wednesday said that Murray was making “false and misleading statements” and “his efforts to clean up the scene shows a consciousness of guilt.”

Murray’s “callous disregard for Mr. Jackson’s health and safety was shown throughout the trial from the manner in which he administered a number of dangerous drugs to Mr. Jackson without the appropriate medical equipment, precautions or personnel in place, and to the manner in which he left Mr. Jackson unattended," the judges reportedly said.

“The evidence demonstrated that Mr. Jackson was a vulnerable victim and that appellant was in a position of trust, and that appellant violated the trust relationship by breaching standards of professional conduct in numerous respects," they added.

Murray’s lawyer, Valerie Wass, said the decision was “disappointing but not unexpected” and hinted that Murray's legal team would seek further legal action with the Supreme Court of California.