Jackson Sued over Surrender Flight

Thu., Feb. 19, 2004 9:30 AM PST by Lia Haberman

Michael Jackson apparently can't go a week without being dragged into court.

The embattled ex-King of Pop is now being sued by the travel agent who booked his surrender flight from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara--the same flight now being investigated by a federal grand jury for secretly place cameras.

Cynthia Montgomery claims the embattled pop star stiffed her on the charter jet's $18,000 fee. Now she wants $50,000 in expenses from Jackson and his production company MJJ Productions.

Must be some pricey peanuts.

Montgomery, who has handled travel arrangements for the "Smooth Criminal" singer for the last three years, said she regularly paid for Jackson's travel expenses in advance to be later reimbursed, according to court documents.

But Jackson allegedly failed to make good on this particular IOU.

A message left with Jackson's attorney Thursday was not returned.

The suit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks to recoup the money spent, and then some, on the rental of the XtraJet charter.

In the lawsuit, Montgomery claims she shelled out her own money for the charter flight "because XtraJet required cash upfront from MJJ Productions and Michael Jackson due to payment problems."

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Her own attempts to negotiate payment with Jackson's attorneys have been unsuccessful, said Montgomery's lawyer Robert T. Moore II.

The lawsuit adds to the turbulence surrounding the fateful flight. Jackson let fly his own legal salvo after it was revealed that secretly installed cameras taped the Gloved One and his legal rep during the flight.

Jackson was en route to Santa Barbara to turn himself in on charges of child molestation--charges he denies.

In fact, Montgomery's unpaid bill may be related to the candid camera footage. The travel agent told Celebrity Justice Jackson's camp refuses to pay because they believe she was somehow involved in installing the secret cameras on the plane--a charge she denies.

While the two self-professed innocent parties battle it out in court, the public is unlikely to see the controversial footage in question. A judge quickly grounded XtraJet's attempts to shop the two videotapes to news organizations.

Meanwhile, a federal grand jury has launched a formal criminal probe into the cameras onboard Flight Jackson to determine if there was any criminal misconduct.

Montgomery was subpoenaed to testify as part of the investigation, along with an XtraJet flight attendant who's had Jackson as a passenger before. She allegedly told Santa Barbara authorities that she served wine to Jackson in soda cans--the same technique he's accused of using to intoxicate his young victim.

An attorney for the Santa Monica-based charter company denies it was responsible for installing the candid cameras.