Los Angeles, June 12:Pop star Michael Jackson on Wednesday settled a $12 million breach of contract lawsuit by his former top adviser, avoiding a trial that threatened to spill details of his financial empire and personal life into open court. Jackson's attorney, Zia Modabber, confirmed to Reuters that the entertainer had settled his legal fight with Myung-Ho Lee and his firm Union Finance and Investment Corp., but declined to discuss the terms.
Modabber said the two sides had reached a confidential agreement to settle Lee's lawsuit and a counter-suit by Jackson and filed notice with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Andria Richey on Wednesday. He said Jackson had personally signed off on the settlement.
Lee claimed in his lawsuit that Jackson hired him in the late 1990s to put his financial affairs in order but refused to curb his spending and never paid for the services while relying on a series of "charlatans" and "hucksters" for advice.
Lawyers for Lee said in court papers that the 44-year-old singer was a "ticking financial time bomb waiting to explode" who owed hundreds of millions of dollars on bank loans.
Jackson's counter-suit claimed that the man he called "Lawyer Lee" and Union Finance stole millions from him and destroyed financial records to cover up their misdeeds.
Attorneys for Lee could not be reached for comment.
The settlement came as Judge Richey was considering a motion to dismiss the case by Jackson's lawyers, who argued that Lee was not a licensed financial advisor in California and therefore could not sign a valid contract.
According to the lawsuit, Lee and Jackson had a falling out over the singer's increasing reliance on an adviser known only as "Samia" who promised to get him $300 million if he would buy her a $40 million villa and a yacht, among other things. Bureau Report