Michael Jackson settles court case, says spokeswoman

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London, Michael Jackson has reached an out-of-court settlement with Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who was suing him for seven million dollars (5.6 million euros), his spokeswoman here said Sunday.

"As Mr Jackson was about to board his plane to London, he was advised by his legal team to postpone his travels since the parties had concluded a settlement in principle," Celina Aponte told reporters.

Jackson was due to testify in person at London's high court as part of the case, but Aponte, international director at The Outside Organisation, said: "He will not be attending court on Monday."

Sheikh Abdulla, the second son of the King of Bahrain, had demanded the repayment of several advances he says he made as part of a joint music project in Bahrain, which Jackson pulled out of.

Jackson contested the claim, saying no project was ever finalised and insisting the money he received had been a gift.

The sheikh's lawyer Bankim Thanki said his client helped support Jackson financially in the aftermath of his 2005 child molestation trial, in which the singer was acquitted.

He accepted a request for one million dollars in April 2005 and paid the 2.2-million-dollar legal bill for the court case, the lawyer said.

Thanki said Jackson signed a contract to record albums, write an autobiography and stage shows, and that document noted that seven million dollars would be deducted from the artist's royalties to pay for expenses.

Jackson said however that the sheikh's case was based on "mistake, misrepresentation and undue influence".

His lawyer Robert Englehart said last week in court that while there was "no doubt that Sheikh Abdulla was very generous in his hospitality and general treatment of Michael Jackson", the contract Jackson apparently signed was "one brick in a building which was never built."

Jackson was one of the world's most successful pop artists, and his 1982 hit "Thriller" remains the best-selling album of all time. However, he has since experienced financial difficulties.


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