Paris Jackson has once again alleged wrongdoing by the man running her late father’s business affairs.
Michael Jackson’s daughter is escalating her legal war with estate executor John Branca, claiming in new court filings that he wants to pay himself more than $100 million (£75 million) for just two years of work.
Paris, who has long sparred with Branca over his role as Michael’s executor, claimed in a 28 October filing in a Los Angeles court that he has offered only “defective filings” to explain the huge fees.
“This is not the first time Executor has avoided his disclosure obligations by means of incomplete filings,” the papers state, Billboard reports.
“This instance, however, is particularly offensive in that Executor’s defective filings include a request for approval of more than one hundred million dollars in compensation.”
As a penalty for the alleged failures, Paris wants Branca’s compensation reduced from 15 to 10 per cent of the estate’s gross entertainment-related income.
In a strongly worded response statement, the Jackson estate called Paris’s request “nonsensical” and “absurd”.
It noted that Branca had in fact waived compensation from the start and has only ever been paid “a separate, court-ordered management fee for operating the hugely successful Michael Jackson business”.
“It is an understatement to say that this motion is completely without merit, nor is it argued on facts,” the estate added in its response statement.
Branca and his co-executor have previously cited their well-documented business success, which took the estate from roughly $500 million (£375 million) in debt to a current valuation of more than $2 billion (£1.5 billion).
In May, Paris won a court ruling against the executors in which a judge ruled that $625,000 (£469,000) in bonuses paid to three outside law firms had been improper and must be “returned to the estate”.
