Quincy Jones Loses $6.9M On Michael Jackson Case Appeal, Judge Overturns 2017 Verdict

Quincy Jones is not entitled to the royalties he is claiming from Michael Jackson’s estate.

On Tuesday, an appellate court ruled out that Jackson doesn’t have to pay $6.9 million in royalties and fees to Jones. Also, the three-judge panel overturned the 2017 jury verdict that awarded Jones $9.4 million in his music royalties dispute with Jackson’s estate.

According to the panel, the trial judge misinterpreted Jones’ contract. The appeals court said that Judge Michael L. Stern made an error for not interpreting the contract himself and leaving it up to the jurors.

Following Jackson’s death, his estate negotiated an increased share of profits through its joint venture with Sony from 50% to two-thirds. Jones claimed that he was entitled to a proportional increase in royal ties under his producer contract. While the jury agreed to give jones $5.3 million in joint venture profits, the court of appeals said Jones wasn’t entitled to an increase, Variety reported.

“The language of section 4(a) cannot be tortured to mean that Jones’s maximum royalty rate increased proportionally if Jackson’s maximum royalty rate increased,” Justice Judith Ashmann-Gerst wrote on behalf of the unanimous panel.

“The only compensation Jones was entitled to receive was royalties from record sales on remixes, and the evidence indicates he received them. If he wanted remixing fees, he had to negotiate them in separate agreements”

Jackson’s estate representative, Howard Weitzman, said that Jones was the last person they thought would take advantage of Jackson by filing a lawsuit three years after the pop star’s death. He added that they knew the initial verdict years ago was wrong and Jones’ lawsuit was just an attempt to take advantage of the late artist because he wasn’t there to defend himself.

“It’s gratifying that in this case the court in an overwhelmingly favorable and just decision, recognizes that Michael Jackson was both an enormous talent and an extremely fair business executive,” added John Branca, co-executor of the estate.

Meanwhile, Jones’ representative stressed that they disagreed with the portions of the court’s decision. However, they are pleased that it affirmed the jury’s determination that MJJP still owes Jones $2.5 million.

In related news, in April, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds shared a fun fact about Jackson. According to him, the singer called him to contact Halle Berry because he wanted to take her out on a date. Babyface tried to get Berry’s number for Jackson. However, he declined to share what the actress told him.