Michael Jackson's family denied new trial in negligence case

[January 31, 2015]  LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A California state appeals court on Friday denied Michael Jackson's family its latest attempt to reverse a jury's decision that cleared concert promoter AEG Live of negligence in the singer's death.

The three-judge panel ruled that Jackson's mother and children did not have standing for a new trial after their attorneys argued last week that AEG Live was liable for Jackson's treatment, and that jury instructions were confusing and not wide enough in scope.

A Los Angeles jury in 2013 cleared privately held AEG Live, the organizer of Jackson's ill-fated 50 "This Is It" comeback concerts in London, of negligently hiring cardiologist Conrad Murray as Jackson's personal physician.

The sensational five-month trial offered a glimpse into Jackson's private life and final days in which Murray administered surgical anesthetic propofol to the "Thriller" singer as a sleep aid.

The child star turned King of Pop, who set the world dancing but whose musical genius was overshadowed by a bizarre lifestyle and sex scandals, died in 2009 at age 50 in Los Angeles from an overdose of the powerful anesthetic.

The lawsuit against AEG Live was filed by Katherine Jackson, 84, and the singer's three children.

The Los Angeles Superior Court jury found that Murray was sufficiently qualified for the job he was hired to do as general practitioner.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011 for Jackson's death and served half of his 4-year sentence in a Los Angeles prison.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Alan Crosby)

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