Las Vegas Weekly

November 20, 2008 · 10:09 AM

Breaking News Update: Judge orders Michael Jackson to appear in British courtroom

By Robin Leach

Illustration: Robert Ullman

Under orders from a British High Court judge, King of Pop Michael Jackson will fly to London on Saturday. The on-and-off Las Vegas resident will then appear in court Monday to be grilled by lawyers in a court case brought by Sheikh Abdullah al-Khalifa, who wants Michael to repay him $7 million.

The son of the King of Bahrain claims Michael reneged on a contract for a new album and an autobiography -- and that the money was an advance! Jackson’s lawyers claim the money was purely a gift from a generous rich man and that no project was ever finalized.

Attorney Robert Englehart said that Jackson told al-Khalifa in a letter dated June 22, 2006, that he no longer wished to pursue a project with the prince. Michael lived at the royal palace in Bahrain, where a recording studio was built, after the famous 2005 Santa Barbara court case when he was acquitted of child-molestation charges at his Neverland ranch there.

Englehart assured the High Court that Michael was now cleared by his medical team to travel to Britain on Saturday and would be well enough to appear Monday afternoon for the court hearings and interrogation. “He will be available to give evidence to your lordship,” Englehart promised the judge.

Our former Fleet Street colleagues in Britain will be watching Michael’s appearance, and we’ll have that breaking news report for you right here on Monday.

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