Michael Jackson’s son, Blanket ‘Bigi’ Jackson has filed legal papers seeking to block his grandmother Katherine from using estate funds in the ongoing legal battle with the estate executors.
Bigi Jackson, 22, formerly known as Blanket, filed paperwork with the court earlier this week, TMZ reported, citing court docs it reviewed.
It’s the latest development in a legal battle over the Beat It singer’s estate nearly 15 years after the June 25, 2009 death.
It was gathered that the Man in the Mirror singer’s survivors oppose efforts made by his estate executors to sell a large portion of the late artist’s catalogue.
Blanket and his grandmother were on the same page in stating their resistance to a potential sale, according to legal documents reviewed by TMZ, but Blanket was not involved with Katherine’s subsequent appeal of the court’s eventual ruling to let the executors proceed in exploring further options for a sale.
Attorneys for Blanket told the court that he feels the appeal will not be a successful one and doesn’t want to depreciate the value of the estate with expensive legal bills, the outlet reported.
Blanket’s legal team requested the court ‘use its best judgment’ in ruling for Katherine to be reimbursed for ‘reasonable attorney’s fees’ she racked prior to appealing the court’s ruling.
Attorneys for Blanket said in docs submitted to the court last June that Blanket had hoped to keep his position on the matter under wraps, encouraging the court to maintain confidentiality on certain aspects of the legal conflict.
Blanket ‘is a very private person and may have said nothing if he knew that his words or positions could become public,’ his lawyers said. ‘That, in turn, would have denied the trial court of the ability to hear and consider all aspects of the proposed action.’
In legal docs obtained by Dailymail.com earlier this month, the two executors of the estate, John Branca and John McClain, filed paperwork in Los Angeles Superior Court asking it to stop Katherine in her pursuit of $561,548 from them over a legal dispute tied to the late Thriller singer’s catalog.
Katherine, 93, filed court documents requesting the six-figure sum in a motion, as she said she spent the total on legal fees seeking to prevent Branca and McClain from selling her late son’s work.
Branca and McClain sought court approval in 2022 to sell Michael Jackson’s catalog, leading his mother to file documents objecting to the potential sale.
Katherine told the court in a hearing on the topic that her late son, who famously feuded with Paul McCartney in the mid-1980s over his purchase of publishing rights of a chunk of Beatles material, made clear he never wanted his catalog to be sold, as he felt it was his lifeline, Radar reported earlier this month.
Branca and McClain told the court that Katherine has an established track record of opposing business transactions that would be profitable for the estate; and said the timing was right to put Jackson’s work for sale, as it would command maximum value amid current market conditions.
Branca and McClain told the court that Jackson’s estate badly needed the cash infusion, as it ‘was teetering on the verge of collapse,’ Radar reported after reviewing legal docs.
The estate, according to the executors, had ‘more than $400 million in debt that encumbered Michael’s most significant assets and little or no liquidity or means to service that debt.
‘Through creative thinking, hard work and business savvy – and, of course, Michael’s extraordinary creative legacy – the Executors transformed the MJJ Business into a profitable enterprise.’
The judge in the case eventually granted Branca and McClain permission to pursue a sale of the catalog, which Katherine filed an appeal against, saying the executors were overreaching in their authority, Radar reported.
Branca and McClain filed papers in response objecting to Katherine’s appeal, citing their rights as executors. The court has yet to issue a judgment on the appeal.
Last month the estate announced a partial sale, as Sony purchased the rights to half of Jackson’s material for $600 million amid Katherine’s objections.
Michael’s eldest son Prince, 27, said through his legal team that he preferred to keep his position on the situation private.