Jackson lawyers paint AEG as ruthless, greedy

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Michael Jackson fans from left, Karlene Taylor, Yvonne Francis, Latrenda White and Jamie Lee, speak out against AEG Live. A jury found Wednesday that AEG Live was not liable in the death of the pop superstar. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Jury foreman Gregg Barden, center, listens to a reporter’s question about their verdict in the civil trial over the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Katherine Jackson and three grandchildren against AEG Live in the death of singer Michael Jackson. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos gathers the verdict documents moments before they were publicly disclosed. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Attorneys for Katherine Jackson, Deborah Chang, left and Kevin Boyle listen as jurors are polled following the verdict in the civil trial that lasted for five months. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam smiles during verdict polling at the conclusion of the Katherine Jackson v. AEG Live civil trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The jury found AEG not liable in Michael Jackson’s death. AEG attorney Jessica Stebbins Bina is at left. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, left, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, speaks with Kathryn Cahan and Marvin Putnam, attorneys with AEG Live LLC ,in Los Angeles County Superior Court in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death trial Thursday in downtown Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Bailiffs are sworn in to protect the jury as Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, waits during the trial in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday. The singer’s family has sued the entertainment firm AEG Live LLC, saying the company negligently hired and supervised Conrad Murray, the doctor who administered the dose of propofol that killed the singer. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, an attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in a packed courtroom in downtown Los Angeles on Sept. 24. The promoters of Michael Jackson’s last tour were “so excited” about making huge profits that they hired an unfit doctor to care for the star, his family’s lawyer said. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Marvin Putnam, lead attorney for AEG Live LLC and co-counsel Jessica Stebbins-Bina, listen to closing arguments by Michael Jackson family’s attorney, Brian Panish, in a packed courtroom Sept. 24. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Brian Panish, attorney for the Michael Jackson family, delivers his closing argument to jurors in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live LLC on Sept. 24. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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AEG attorney Marvin Putnam gives closing arguments in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 25. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

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Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos listens to a rebuttal argument in the Michael Jackson wrongful-death case on Sept. 26. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

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Debbie Rowe, Michael Jackson’s former wife and mother of two of his children, leaves Los Angeles County Superior Court after testifying at the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, against AEG Live. (Nick Ut / Associated Press)

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Television crews report live outside Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles on the first day of the trial in the wrongful-death lawsuit. (Joe Klamar / AFP/Getty Images)

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In this file photo dated Sept. 27, 2011, Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine Jackson arrives outside Los Angeles County Superior Court to hear opening statement in the involuntary manslaughter trial of pop superstar Michael Jackson’s personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray was convicted and sentenced to prison. (Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)

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Singer Janet Jackson, left, Paris Katherine Jackson, Prince Michael Jackson II and LaToya Jackson are seen on stage during the memorial service for Michael Jackson at Staples Center in Los Angeles on July 7, 2009. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)

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Entertainer Michael Jackson announces on March 5, 2009, that he will play a series of comeback concerts at the London O2 Arena in July. Jackson died before the concerts could be held. (Joel Ryan / Associated Press)

By Corina Knoll and Jeff Gottlieb

April 29, 2013 1:29 PM PT

The attorney for Michael Jackson’s family painted entertainment powerhouse Anschutz Entertainment Group as a gang of ruthless executives concerned only with becoming No. 1 in the concert business and caring nothing about the singer’s well-being.

Attorney Brian Panish began his opening statement Monday in the Jackson-AEG suit by talking about Jackson’s addiction to prescription drugs.

He also mentioned Dr. Conrad Murray, the debt-ridden doctor who administered the fatal dose of propofol to Jackson and was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

FULL COVERAGE: AEG wrongful death trial

But it was AEG, Panish said, that completed the puzzle in Jackson’s 2009 death.

“Michael had a problem, Dr. Murray had a problem and AEG had a problem,” Panish told the jury of six men and six women in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom Monday.

“You know what AEG’s problem was? They were not No. 1 in the concert business but they wanted to be.”

The attorney said the company wanted to exploit Jackson to catch up to their competitor in the concert business, Live Nation, at all costs.

“You don’t do that with white gloves,” Panish said. “You do what you gotta do if you want to be No. 1 in this rough business of concert promotions.”

The wrongful-death suit against AEG was filed by the singer’s mother, Katherine -- who was in the courtroom Monday along with Michael Jackson’s siblings Rebbie and Randy -- and his three children. Jackson died on the eve of what was to be a comeback series of concerts in 2009.

The suit accuses AEG of pushing Jackson beyond his limits and being responsible for hiring and controlling Murray.

“There were no rules,” Panish told the jury, when it came to furthering AEG’s success. “It didn’t matter what it took. … AEG had a problem and they wanted to fix it and they didn’t care who got lost in the wash.”

Using slides and photos, Panish quoted from emails among AEG executives that surfaced last year as evidence of the attitude. In one, AEG Live President and CEO Randy Phillips described screaming at Jackson, whom he called an “emotionally paralyzed mess,” before a news conference.

“Forget about helping Mr. Jackson,” Panish said. “The show must go on.”

Murray’s involvement only created a downward spiral for Jackson because the doctor’s “financial condition made him susceptible to pressure and created a conflict between his patient’ needs and AEG’s needs,” Panish said.

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