Nationalphotogroup.comUPDATE: A judge dismissed the suit on Aug. 18, 2010, citing a lack of evidence that Jackson or his family had a binding agreement to perform at a reunion show.
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Michael Jackson is about to learn the hard way that family always comes first. Or at least it does when there's a multimillion-dollar contract involved.
AllGood Entertainment, for which things ironically are going pretty badly, followed through on its threats and filed a federal lawsuit against the erstwhile King of Pop today. The promoter alleges that Jackson is in serious and costly breach of his contract by daring to book a string of solo concerts before making good on his promise to participate in a long-gestating reunion show with the Jackson 5.
Problems arose earlier this year, when Jackson defied critics and ignited fans by announcing he had teamed with AEG for a series of concerts in London this summer. The hitch: His contractually obligated Jackson 5 show is not scheduled to take place until summer 2010.
The peeved promoter is seeking a minimum of $20 million in damages from Jackson, his manager and AEG, and is seeking to stop the 50-night engagement from taking place.
Apparently AllGood is unaware that hell hath no fury like rabid, international Jacko fans scorned.
"This is a case where the little guy followed the rules and was pushed aside by industry giants AEG and the Jacksons for the promise of bigger money and movies," AllGood said in a statement.
The company claims that Jackson and his manager, Frank Dileo, "secretly teamed up with AEG" and booked the high-profile U.K. shows despite being well aware that the London run was in violation of his contract.
"Dileo and the Jacksons must be held accountable for violating [AllGood's] rights under a contract which was signed two full months prior to AEG's O2 London agreement."
They further claim the 50-year-old's reunion show contract contained a noncompete clause that specifically noted that Jackson was not allowed to enter into another performance contract until at least three months after the family show, ostensibly to protect the momentousness of the once-in-a-blue-moon occasion.
Jackson, for his part, has been vocal about wanting to continue with his London run of performances and claims that it was his manager who signed the restrictive AllGood deal, not he himself. AllGood, meanwhile, is going with the same-difference defense.
The promoter claims that Dileo gave them "resounding and explicit" assurances that he had the authority to bind Jackson to contracts.
The Jackson 5 concert is tentatively scheduled to take place July 3, 2010, in Austin. Just last week Jackson, possibly to ward off today's filing, claimed just last week that he still planned to participate in next year's musical family reunion.
Jackon's solo run is now even more tentatively scheduled to take place at London's O2 arena beginning July 13. A handful of his U.K. shows have already been rescheduled for March 2010, a long way off for avid fans, but still falling short of the restrictions of his AllGood contract.
Still, despite the inevitable snowballing of hiccups in the run-up to next month's shows, Jackson has not strayed from his six-hour-a-day rehearsal schedule in Los Angeles.
And he's already brought in some heavy hitters to help him nail his comeback, including someone who's successfully worked his magic—literally—before.
Last month, magician Ed Alonzo, who waved his magic wand over Britney Spears' successful and ever-expanding Circus tour, told E! News he has been busy staging "magic and illusions" that will feature in Jackson's shows...should they go on.
AllGood is looking to prevent Jackson from "producing, performing and promoting" his London shows at any time this summer.
—Additional reporting by Ashley Fultz
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