A jury has found Michael Jackson's concert promoters,
AEG Live, not guilty of negligence in hiring the doctor who killed him.
The Jackson
family had been seeking $290m (£180m) for emotional losses, plus an unspecified
amount for economic losses - a sum AEG called "absurd".
Dr Conrad
Murray was jailed for four years for involuntary manslaughter over the pop
star's 2009 death.
Jackson died at
the age of 50 from an overdose of a surgical anaesthetic.
He had been due
to stage a series of comeback concerts in London.
"I
couldn't be more pleased with the way the jury came out. They got it exactly
right," AEG Live lead defence lawyer Marvin S Putnam said after the
verdict was read out.
To reach its
verdict, the jury of six men and six women had to go through five key yes-no
questions seeking to establish whether AEG was responsible for Murray's hiring
in the first place and concerning his competence for the job.
The jury
decided that AEG Live did hire Dr Murray but found that he was not unfit or
incompetent for the job, which was one of the requirements for the Jackson
lawsuit to succeed.
In the civil
trial, the family claimed the promoters failed to properly investigate the
former cardiologist. The company denied hiring Murray, saying the singer
insisted on having him as a doctor.
More than 50
witnesses testified during the trial, including Jackson's mother Katherine and
his eldest son, Prince.
Conrad Murray
is due to be released later this month after serving two years in jail.
Source: BBC
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