AEG法廷セッション17：マイケルの同意は口頭であった

木曜日の朝、マイケル・ジャクソンさんの母親、キャサリン・ジャクソンさんは涙と苦痛の中で法廷を去り、午後の法廷には出席しなかった。この日、ブライアン・パニッシュはマイケルに課せられた苦難と不幸について語った。

前日、キャサリン・ジャクソンの弁護士に恥ずかしい驚きを与えられたAEGの上級弁護士ショーン・トレルは、4度目に証言台に戻った。

2009年1月、マイケルとThis Is Itツアーの契約を結ぶため、トレルはホルムビーヒルズのキャロルウッドにある自宅に向かった。トレルは、マイケルに病気の兆候はなかったと述べた。トレル氏はまた、AEGは2人のアーティスト（マイケルとプリンス）によるコンサートのプロモーターおよびプロデューサーとしての役割を果たしただけだと述べた。パニッシュはプリンスのコンサートは失敗だったと指摘した。トレルは同意しなかった。

同氏は、このツアーではアーティストのために医師を雇ったことは一度もなかったと述べた。

トレル氏は、「ジャクソン氏は、ツアー中に彼とその家族の世話ができるように、マレー博士を雇ってほしいと私たちに頼んだ。私たちは利益相反が生じることを心配していなかった。」と語った。

パニッシュ: 「AEGは彼に、自分で医師を雇い、自分でお金を払わなければならないと言ったはずですよね?」

トレル：「はい。」

パニッシュ: 「毎月 15 万ドルを失うという考えは、全員がパニックを引き起こすのに十分だと思いますか?」

Trell: “I don’t know.”

Murray’s monthly salary was $150,000.

Trell said that Conrad Murray’s contract was drafted by AEG’s lawyers and was never sent to Michael’s lawyers or representatives.

Trell: “The contract had been prepared in three or four drafts.”

Panish: “Did Mr. Murray sign the contracts and fax them to you?”

Trell: “Yes.”

Panish pointed out many mistakes in those contracts.

Panish: “How many concerts were being held on the tour?”

Trell: “The papers said 31.”

Panish: “But you sold tickets for 50 concerts.”

Trell: “The contract stated that more than 31 concerts would be based on the artist’s approval.”

Trell said he had not seen Michael’s written approval for 50 concerts, but explained that his approval was verbal.

Panish: “But you said you were working based on completed contracts.”

Company employees testified that because Conrad Murray’s contract was not finalized, he was not considered a company employee. The family’s victory in this case depends on Panish being able to convince the jury that Murray was hired by AEG.

Trell said he had not read the draft of Murray’s contract because it was being prepared by another lawyer named Katie Jory. Trell said that if the company was going to sign the final paper, he would review the contract to ensure there were no mistakes.

Panish asked Trell whether he knew that Randy Phillips, the company CEO, had spoken with Dr. Conrad Murray, Michael’s personal doctor. Trell agreed. Panish then asked whether private conversations with a person’s personal doctor are a legitimate act. Trell said it depends on the topic being discussed.

Panish: “What if the discussion is about the patient’s health?”

Trell: “If they’re talking about general matters, I don’t think the patient’s permission is necessary.”

Panish: “Don’t you know that the law allows doctors to be asked about certain things and not others?”

Trell: “That’s right.”

Panish: “Did Mr. Phillips ever threaten Dr. Murray?”

Trell: “I don’t know.”

Panish referred to an email sent on June 14 by Paul Gongwer, a company executive. In that email, he wrote that it was the company that paid his money, so he also had to carry out his duties.

Panish: “Doesn’t paying a doctor’s salary and then telling him how to care for his patient create a conflict of interest?”

Trell: “I don’t know. It depends.”

When Panish pointed out that Trell’s duty as a lawyer was to protect the company’s financial interests, he agreed. When Panish asked whether it was necessary for everything to be clearly specified in the contract, he said he didn’t think everything could be put on paper. Trell said he didn’t expect the company CEO to know everything. This contradicts Randy Phillips’s statement that everyone working with the company is carefully vetted.

Trell said that people contracted with the company were either known to them, or the artist knew them, or they were active in the market.

Regarding the company’s contract with Teme Teme, Michael’s manager, Trell said it was a management contract. Teme Teme was committed to providing the services Michael wanted during the tour.

Panish: “Was Teme Teme an employee of the company?”

Trell: “No, he wasn’t an employee.”

Panish: “Was he an independent contractor?”

Trell: “He was a contractor.”

Panish pressed Trell for answers because Trell had previously said that tour workers were either company employees or independent contractors.

Trell: “It’s hard for me to explain. He was neither an employee nor an independent contractor.”

Panish showed an email in which Katie Jory recommended that before signing a contract, Teme Teme should be checked and investigated. Jory had asked: “Is Teme Teme the real deal?” (Teme Teme is being pursued for fraud by the マイケル・ジャクソン Foundation. He also falsely introduced himself as an ambassador of Senegal and used the title “doctor” without having medical evidence.)

Panish: “Was an investigation done?”

Trell: “No. There was no reason to doubt that Dr. Teme was hiding the truth.”

Trell said he had seen many times that Teme Teme would call Michael. He said he didn’t understand what Jory meant by “the real deal.”

Email from Team Wally (finance staff) to Bob Taylor (Lloyds London insurance broker), dated June 23, 2009:

“Kenny Ortega is the only one responsible for the tour shows. Randy Phillips and Dr. Murray are responsible for マイケル・ジャクソン’s rehearsals and his attendance at sessions.”

Trell disagreed and said Wally was wrong. Trell said: “Michael showed up for rehearsals whenever he wanted.”

Trell said he didn’t know the exact number of tickets sold for the 50 tour concerts, but it should be around 750,000. The concerts were held at the O2 Arena. This venue is owned by AEG. Trell said the money from ticket sales remained with the arena manager unless the company requested it.

Panish asked whether Phillips had threatened Michael that if the concerts were not performed, he would take his house away. The company’s lawyer objected to this question and claimed Panish was presenting facts in a misleading way. After consulting with the judge, Panish changed the topic.

Trell said he was unaware of the value of Michael’s assets, but said they were collateral for the tour.

Email from Kenny Ortega to Randy Phillips, dated June 20, 2009:

“Now that we’ve brought in Dr. (Murray) and asked him to be more strict while being kind, and to tell him it’s now or never, my concern is that the artist (Michael) won’t be able to reach peak readiness.”

Ortega wrote in the email that Michael was afraid the tour would be canceled.

Panish: “Was Michael under psychological pressure and needed to be checked?”

Trell: “The email says he was afraid, not that he was under pressure.”

Panish: “So no one put him in a vise?”

Trell: “I think so.”

Trell said he didn’t think AEG was worried about losing $34 million (tour production cost).

Trell: “That money was マイケル・ジャクソン’s commitment to us.”

Panish: “Were you worried?”

Trell: “There’s always a reason to worry.”

Panish: “Have you ever lost $34 million?”

Trell: “No.”

Panish again went over the contracts and asked whether all the people working for the company had their contracts completed. Trell said some employees had not signed contracts.

Panish: “But you said only employees get paid if their contracts are finalized and complete.”

He then presented some of the company’s incomplete contracts up to June 25, 2009—the day of Michael’s death. These contracts were related to bringing the tour’s music director, Alfred Dunbar, and the tour guitarist, Orinati, to Michael.

Panish: “Were the salaries of all the people who worked for the tour paid without having a finalized contract?”

Trell: “I don’t remember.”

Email from John Hagdall (tour production manager) to Randy Phillips, dated June 19, 2009:

“He needs a psychologist to prepare him mentally for the tour, and then a physical trainer is needed to prepare him physically as well. (It’s better if Koby—name of a person—is available.) Over the past eight weeks, his condition has been getting worse and worse in front of my eyes. In April he was able to spin around 360 degrees consecutively (one of Michael’s dance moves), but if he tries to do it now, he will fall on his butt.”

Trell said Randy Phillips had never told him anything about this email.

Email from Team Wally to Bridget Segal (responsible for arranging Michael’s lodging in London), dated May 26, 2009:

“Murray’s agreement has not been signed. He emails us to get paid, but we can’t pay him without a contract. We want to keep his mind on something warm so he doesn’t think about the contract.”

Panish: “Did the company try to prevent Dr. Murray’s contract from being finalized?”

Trell: “I don’t think so.”

After that, Jessica Benna, the company’s lawyer, stood up to question the witness.

She asked about the medical equipment requested by Murray—CPR device (artificial respiration), syringes, IV bags, needles, a hospital bed, and so on. Trell said the company did not provide these equipment for two reasons: the contract was not completed, and if it had been, the equipment would have been provided to Murray during the London tour.

(Michael died at home in Los Angeles without these equipment. A CPR device and/or a heart rate warning device could have saved his life.)

Trell said he didn’t know whether Michael decided to sign Conrad Murray’s contract or not. Murray’s pay for two months of work was not paid because his contract was not signed. Murray’s contract was the only contract that required Michael’s signature. Although Michael had fired Teme Teme and appointed Delio in his place three months before his death, the tour cost list sent to his foundation after his death had been approved and signed by Teme Teme and Frank Delio. Delio stated in the document that he had been the program director from March 2009 until the moment of Michael’s death.

During Q&A with the company’s lawyer, Trell said he believed paying Murray’s salary by the company did not create a conflict of interest:

“MJ hired him with our money.”

Trell said that in the first stage, the company was responsible for paying the tour production costs, and Michael guaranteed that payment. If Michael couldn’t cover the payment, the company would have the right to recover its losses from Michael’s royalties—except for the songs, which were exempt from this rule.

Panish started asking again and asked Trell whether he knew the company had paid Delio $5 million after Michael’s death. Trell said no and that he didn’t remember such a payment.

Panish then showed an email sent on October 13, 2009—four months after Michael’s death—by Shawn Trell to Rick Backing. In that email, the payment to Delio was confirmed. Trell said the amount paid to Delio was $50,000, not $5 million. He then said he didn’t know the reason for that payment, but it should be related to the film contract. Teme Teme had not received any money.

Panish then continued discussing the tour expenses that Trell had said were paid by Michael under the contract.

Panish: “Before マイケル・ジャクソン died, you didn’t have his signature for this payment, right?”

Trell: “Yes.”

Panish: “And after Michael’s death, you asked Teme Teme and Delio to sign the contract, yes or no?”

Trell: “Yes.”

Trell also said that Murray’s salary was included in the expense list signed by Teme Teme and Delio. He said the $150,000 salary for Murray was the only salary set at that level.

At the end, Panish referred to private conversations between Murray and Randy Phillips and asked Trell: “Did Randy Phillips ever ask your doctor how you were doing?” Trell answered no.

The next court session will be held on Tuesday of next week.

Source: eMJey.com / AP & ABC