LOS ANGELES — A jury cleared a concert promoter of negligence on Wednesday in a case that attempted to link the death of Michael Jackson to the company that promoted his ill-fated comeback shows.
The panel rejected a lawsuit brought by Jackson's mother claiming AEG Live was negligent in hiring Conrad Murray, the doctor who killed Jackson with an overdose of a hospital anesthetic the singer used as a sleep aid.
The five-month trial provided the closest look yet at Jackson's drug use and his battles against chronic pain and insomnia.
It also took jurors behind the scenes in the rough-and-tumble world of negotiations with one of the world's most famous entertainers looking to solidify his legendary status after scandal interrupted his career.
With its verdict, the jury also delivered a somewhat surprising message: Jurors did not believe Murray was unfit or incompetent to perform his duties involving Jackson.
"That doesn't mean we felt he was ethical," jury foreman Gregg Barden said after the verdict was read.
He said the panel knew many people would not agree with the verdict but explained that the jury followed the language of the verdict form and instructions.
The ruling on the competence of Murray ended any further consideration of possible damages and who was at fault for the death. AEG Live lawyers suggested throughout the trial that Jackson was the only one to blame for his death.
"AEG didn't do anything wrong and would not allow themselves to be shaken down," lead defense attorney Marvin S. Putnam said.
After the hearing, juror Bryant Carino of Los Angeles was asked who was to blame for Jackson's death.
"I don't want to say whose fault it is," the 36-year-old Carino responded. "I'm not one to point fingers."
Katherine Jackson told reporters she was OK after the verdict.
A victory could have meant hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for her and the singer's three children and provided a rebuke of AEG Live, the nation's second-largest concert promoter.
Kevin Boyle, an attorney for Katherine Jackson, said he was disappointed with the verdict.
"We, of course, are not happy with the result as it stands now," Boyle said. "We will be exploring all options legally and factually and make a decision about anything at a later time."
He added: "We think that what we've done with this case is prove some things that are important for the Jackson family and for the concert industry and the sports industry with regards to treatment by doctors."
Boyle declined to answer further questions.
Murray was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter after giving Jackson the overdose as he prepared for the comeback shows dubbed "This Is It." Witnesses at the trial said Jackson saw the concerts as a chance for personal redemption after being acquitted of child molestation.
But as the opening date of the shows approached, associates testified that he had bouts of insecurity and agonized over his inability to sleep. They said he turned to the drug propofol and found Murray, who was willing to buy it in bulk and administer it to him on a nightly basis even though it is not meant to be used outside operating rooms.
Testimony at the civil trial showed that only Jackson and Murray knew he was taking the drug.
In his closing argument, AEG Live attorney Putnam told jurors the company would have pulled the plug on the shows if executives knew Jackson was using the anesthetic.
"AEG would have never agreed to finance this tour if they knew Mr. Jackson was playing Russian roulette in his bedroom every night," Putnam said.
Brian Panish, a lawyer for the Jackson family, countered that AEG Live was negligent by not looking far enough to find out what it needed to know about Murray. He claimed in his closing argument that the lure of riches turned the company and Murray into mercenaries who sacrificed the pop star's life in a quest to boost their own fortunes.
He said Murray's $150,000-a-month contract to care for Jackson was a lifeline to help him climb out of his financial troubles, which included $500,000 in debt. AEG Live, meanwhile, had only one interest — launching a world tour for the King of Pop that would yield untold millions in profits, the lawyer said.
AEG Live's lawyers framed the case as being about personal choice, saying Jackson made bad choices about the drug that killed him and the doctor who provided it. They said he was the architect of his own demise and no one else can be blamed.
Putnam said Jackson insisted on hiring the cardiologist, despite objections from AEG Live.
"It was his money and he certainly wasn't going to take no for an answer," the lawyer said.
Jurors heard testimony from more than 50 witnesses, including Jackson's mother and his eldest son, Prince, as well as days of testimony from AEG executives who were repeatedly asked about emails in which they discussed Jackson's missed rehearsals and described Murray's pay as a done deal.
They also heard about Jackson's close relationship to many of his doctors, including Murray, who he first met in Las Vegas in 2007.
Katherine Jackson called the case a search for the truth about the death of her son and the trial featured potentially embarrassing revelations for both sides. AEG's executives had their emails picked apart, revealing concerns that Jackson wouldn't be able to perform the shows as planned, that a lawyer at their parent company referred to Michael Jackson as "the freak," and that Jackson was derided even though the company had invested more than $30 million in his shows.
Jackson's greatest hits were in heavy rotation throughout the trial, with jurors watching footage of him moonwalking across stages and playing to packed arenas around the globe, with some fans so overcome with emotion that some had to be carried out on stretchers. A world few saw was also on display, with private videos of Christmas mornings Jackson spent with his children and stories about his devotion to them being recounted throughout the trial.
AEG Live, meanwhile, laid out Jackson's medical history, presenting testimony about his use of drugs, including the powerful painkiller Demerol, for pain stemming from an accident that occurred decades ago while he was filming a Pepsi commercial. Jackson had no trace of that drug in his system when he died.
The lawyers called witnesses who recounted Jackson's use of propofol dating back to the 1990s. In 1997, two German doctors administered the anesthetic to help the singer sleep between shows in Munich.
Jackson's mother and his three children are supported by his estate, which provides a comfortable lifestyle for them and erased hundreds of millions of dollars in debts by debuting new projects and releasing new music featuring the King of Pop.
