Torchde Team | December 14, 2020
MJ Estate vs HBO – Today, the appeals court decided in favor of the Michael Jackson estate in its fight over the HBO film Leaving Neverland. The estate claims that the network violated a decades-old non-disparagement agreement by producing the film. The judges concluded that the appeals court arbitration provision is still valid, even 28 years later. “The contract contained a broad arbitration clause that covers claims that HBO disparaged Jackson in violation of ongoing confidentiality obligations,” states the opinion. “We may only identify whether the parties agreed to arbitrate such claims; it is for the arbitrator to decide whether those claims are meritorious.”
One of the first outlets to report this decision was Variety. The same article has been copied by other media outlets. The article includes this incorrect comment: “The judges conceded that the suit may be “frivolous,” as HBO has claimed, but said it will be up to an arbitrator to make that call.”
The Hollywood Reporter worded the appeals court correctly and in context: “In a footnote, the court explains that even if the estate’s arguments “are as frivolous as HBO claims” it’s not the court’s job to weigh the merits.”