The feud between Michael Jackson’s ex-manager Tohme Tohme and his estate has come to an end with a California judge ruling that the estate owes him $3 million.
The legal battle initially began in 2012 when Tohme first sued the estate claiming that he was owed a 15 percent commission on compensation that Jackson, who was his client, received during the final year of his life. He also demanded a cut of the concert film “This Is It,” which was released months after Jackson’s death. Tohme also claimed that he was owed a finder’s fee for securing a loan that prevented foreclosure on Neverland Ranch. He settled with the estate in May of last year. However, the two parties continued bickering over the lack of a finalized written agreement, which forced Tohme to sue them once again.
But, through the new $3 million settlement, both the estate and Tohme would “irrevocably, unconditionally, release, acquit and forever discharge” all claims against one another. In its response, the estate said that the agreement was necessary because the “intent of the settlement was to finally put to rest all of Tohme’s claims so that the Estate is not burdened by future litigation of old claims.”
On Tuesday, L.A. County Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young sided with Tohme’s claims that he and the estate had formed an oral agreement that they refused to honor.
