Michael Jackson’s Estate, Sony Beat Song Fraud Class Action Lawsuit

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A California appeals court has dismissed a Sony class action lawsuit finding that even if a Michael Jackson album released after the pop king’s death included voice impersonators, the estate’s right to claim Jackson sang the songs is protected by the First Amendment.

Lead plaintiff Vera Serova alleged in the Sony, Michael Jackson songs class action lawsuit that the entertainment company, along with the production company, Angelikson Productions, deceived her and other consumers by including tracks allegedly not sung by Michael Jackson in an album released shortly after his death, “Michael.”

The tracks allegedly not performed by Michael Jackson include “Breaking News,” “Monster,” and “Keep Your Head Up.”

The Sony, Michael Jackson songs class action lawsuit alleged that the companies violated California consumer laws and defeated a dismissal effort by arguing the album cover and promotional video was commercial speech.

However, the California Court of Appeal disagreed with the trial court and dismissed the Michael Jackson songs class action lawsuit.

According to the order dismissing the Sony class action lawsuit, there was evidence that Angelikson Productions misrepresented to Sony that the tracks at issue were sung by Michael Jackson.

“Because [defendants] lacked actual knowledge of the identity of the lead singer on the Disputed Tracks, they could only draw a conclusion about that issue from their own research and the available evidence,” noted the order dismissing the Sony, Michael Jackson songs class action lawsuit. “Under these circumstances, [their] representations about the identity of the singer amounted to a statement of opinion rather than fact.”

The appellate court also disagreed with the trial court’s findings that the promotional materials and album cover constituted commercial speech.

Instead, stated the court order dismissing the Sony class action lawsuit, these materials concerned non-commercial speech regarding the deceased pop star’s artistic identity and significance.

The appellate court clarified that even though the album cover and promotional materials had a commercial function, the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution still applied.

The appellate court also pointed out that Michael Jackson’s family had questioned whether he had performed the songs in a public manner, making the issue controversial and important to the “artistic significance” of the tracks at issue.

Further, both Sony and Michael Jackson’s Estate issued statements denying that the songs were performed by voice impersonators in response to the family’s concerns.

“Under these circumstances, Appellants’ statements about the identity of the artist were not simply commercial speech but were subject to full First Amendment protection,” stated the order dismissing the Sony, Michael Jackson songs class action lawsuit. “They are therefore outside the scope of an actionable unfair competition or consumer protection claim in this case.”

Angelikson Productions did not join the appeal of the Sony, Michael Jackson songs class action lawsuit.

Serova is represented by Ari E. Moss and Jeremy F. Bollinger of Moss Bollinger.

The Sony, Michael Jackson Songs Class Action Lawsuit is Vera Serova v. Sony Music Entertainment, et al., Case No. BC548468, in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of Los Angeles.