AEG

Katherine Jackson is not only WASTING HER TIME by appealing the AEG wrongful death case ... she's also making a mockery of the legal system ... so says AEG.

AEG just responded to Katherine's request for a new trial -- after Katherine argued that jurors were bamboozled because the jury instructions blocked them from being able hold AEG responsible for Conrad Murray's actions AFTER he was hired to take care of Michael Jackson.

Katherine had claimed that even if Murray was competent when AEG hired him, they should still be liable because he proved reckless and irresponsible during the months leading up to Jackson's death, and AEG did nothing to stop it.

But AEG claims Katherine is simply grasping at straws ... and her appeal is a pathetic last ditch effort from a desperate woman.

The entertainment giant also argues that the jury instructions were crystal clear and perfectly fair, taken directly from the California Civil Jury instruction guide book ... so too bad, so sad ... but that's the way the law works.

Katherine Jackson is irate that AEG is asking her to pay more than $1.2 million in costs associated with the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial ... claiming many of the so-called "expenses" are bogus.

AEG -- which won the case -- is asking the judge to sock Katherine with court costs. But according to new docs, obtained by TMZ, Katherine is blanching at a bunch of them, including:

-- $540,000 in models and blow-up court exhibits
-- $20,000 for 1,000 pages of jury instruction paper and other stuff
-- $53,000 for process servers
-- $118,000 unnecessary depositions

Katherine is even grousing about the $9 parking fees tacked on for court reporters to show up for the trial.

Katherine Jackson has just formally asked for a new trial in the Michael Jackson wrongful death case, claiming the judge screwed up by not letting the jury consider that Conrad Murray acted like a nincompoop AFTER he was hired by AEG.

Katherine lost because the jury decided when AEG hired Murray, there was no reason to believe he was incompetent. The answer to that question ended the case. Katherine feels the judge should have allowed jurors to go further -- even if Murray seemed competent at the beginning, he proved reckless and irresponsible during the months leading up to Jackson's death, and AEG did nothing to stop it.

The documents formally asking for a new trial include statements from 4 jurors, who say they feel the verdict was wrong.

One juror says, "I feel so cheated ..." Another juror felt Katherine should have won, and complained the jury instructions made that impossible. And still another juror said, "This was a very unfair and upsetting way to end the case. There was no question in my mind that AEG Live was liable."

Katherine Jackson wants a do-over in her fight against AEG -- TMZ has learned, she just filed docs asking for a new trial ... after the jury ruled in favor of the concert promoters back in October.

As we reported, AEG emerged victorious after Katherine sued the company for wrongful death, claiming AEG negligently hired Dr. Conrad Murray to care for Michael Jackson before his "This Is It" concert tour ... the same doctor who was ultimately convicted of killing the singer with a fatal dose of Propofol.

Katherine has now filed legal docs looking for a second chance to convince a jury AEG is to blame for MJ's death ... claiming she didn't get a fair shot the first time around.

Katherine lists a bunch of reasons for her claim in the docs ... including jury misconduct, new evidence, and general procedural errors.

A judge has yet to rule on Katherine's request ... but she's definitely facing an uphill battle.

Michael Jackson's people have just thrown Britney Spears, George Michael, Van Halen, Aerosmith and other big names under a big tour bus, because MJ's people have just labeled them hard-core drug abusers just to make a point in a lawsuit.

Here's the deal. Lloyds of London has refused to pay benefits under an insurance policy that AEG took out in case MJ was not able perform for the "This Is It" tour. Lloyds rejected the claim on grounds Michael and AEG defrauded the company by failing to fess up that MJ was a drug abuser.

Now the bus. The Michael Jackson Company (MJC) sued Lloyds, demanding payment. MJC claims in public documents -- obtained by TMZ -- that a number of artists, including Britney, George, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Kings of Leon, AC/DC, Johnny Hallyday and Whitney Houston all were known drug addicts and all of them applied for similar insurance to Lloyds.

MJC wants to see how the other rock stars were treated to determine if Michael is being singled out unfairly.

Michael Jackson's family is suffering its second crushing blow this month -- Conrad Murray is about to be a free man ... and Jermaine Jackson says it's almost too much for them to handle.

Jermaine downplayed his mother, Katherine Jackson's recent loss to AEG in the wrongful death trial, telling us ... "It's not about the money. This guy is walking this month. He's walking free this month!"

Murray is scheduled to be released from jail on October 28, completing his sentence for the involuntary manslaughter of MJ. Murray actually got 4-years, but that was reduced to 2, due to jail overcrowding.

Watch the clip ... Jermaine unloads on our camera guy about what he views as Murray's way-too-brief time behind bars -- adding his family is still hurting.

Bonus footage: Jermaine's take on his mom being pissed he blew $160,000 on a new Ferrari ... while he's behind on child support. Trust us, Jermaine ... Mama's not happy.

Michael Jackson's former doctor and convicted killer, Conrad Murray, must be getting pretty strong meds behind bars ... because he thinks the jury in the wrongful death trial proved he's a good physician -- he's dead wrong.

TMZ obtained audio of Murray leaving a message for someone shortly after the judge announced AEG Live was not accountable for MJ's death -- and on the recording, Murray says the decision proves, "I have never been and never will be an inept physician."

Murray's missing one giant point ... which is that the jury really only said they felt he was fit to do what AEG hired him to do -- be a good general practitioner for MJ. The part about pumping Michael full of Propofol every night was never relevant to the questions the jury was asked to answer.

In fact, the jury foreman made it clear they were NOT saying they felt Murray was ethical -- and said the verdict might have been different if ethics were in play during this trial.

Nonetheless, Murray feels vindicated ... so, you gotta hear him gushing and praising God, the jury, and the justice system ... this time, anyway.

The Jackson family just LOST their bid to hold AEG Live accountable for Michael Jackson's death.

The jury ruled AEG Live did hire Conrad Murray. That's huge. The jury then ruled Conrad Murray was NOT unfit or incompetent to treat MJ. Katherine and the kids lose.

So here's the thing. The question that ruined Katherine's case was whether Murray was competent to handle Jackson when he was hired, and the jury said he was. Ironically, a jury in the criminal case ruled Murray then went off the rails and did things that ultimately killed MJ. But because he was competent at the outset -- the Jackson family lost.

The jury foreman confirmed this during a post-court news conference where he said they felt Murray was competent to do the job for which he was hired -- a good general practitioner. However he added, "That doesn't mean we felt he was ethical. Had that question been in there, it could have been a different outset.

AEG claimed Michael hired Murray and what went on between them was a secret to all ... including AEG.

Katherine Jackson has a rather tortured analysis of the jury verdict -- she seems to be saying even if she didn't get any money, she still kinda won.

Katherine says, "We have said from the beginning that this case was a search for the truth. We found the truth. AEG hired Dr. Conrad Murray, the man who is in jail for killing Michael Jackson."

She's right to this extent ... the jury did say AEG Live hired Murray. In fact Katherine scoffs at AEG, saying, "AEG has denied for years, and continues to deny, that they hired Dr. Conrad Murray. The jury found unanimously that AEG hired Dr. Murray."

But then the jury delivered a knockout punch to the Jackson lawsuit, by deciding essentially that when AEG Live hired Murray, they had no reason to believe he was an incompetent general practitioner ... which was the whole point of bringing a doctor on board in the first place. Therefore, AEG was not negligent.

Katherine is pissed, saying, "AEG has repeated the mantra that this lawsuit was a shakedown. Such a statement is a slap in the face of the entire judicial system that allowed this case to go to a jury."

If Katherine Jackson wins her lawsuit against AEG ... the BIG winner isn't really Katherine or Michael's 3 kids ... more likely it's Jermaine Jackson, along with Tito, Randy and Marlon.

We got Jermaine out in Calabasas yesterday ... and we asked if Katherine provided for him in her will, but he dodged the question.

Here's the significance. Katherine is suing for $10 BILLION. If the jury awards her a substantial amount of money, it would almost certainly go to her kids when she dies, and here's why -- Michael's children won't need the money for two reasons.

First, the 3 kids are also suing, so any judgment would probably be more than enough for them to live off of. Also, when Katherine dies, they'll pretty much get the vast fortune that has been accumulated in the MJ Estate.

The logical people who would get Katherine's money would be hubby Joe and their kids. Katherine has been sparing in terms of what she gives Joe -- they don't live together anymore, so her kids would almost certainly be the primary beneficiaries of what she leaves behind.

Michael Jackson -- NOT AEG -- hired Dr. Conrad Murray and MJ actually kept AEG at complete arms length on issues of medical treatment, because he felt a bunch of snakes ran the concert promotion company ... and these are the words of Conrad Murray captured on tape.

TMZ has obtained a voice mail Murray recently left on a friend's answering machine. If it were testimony in the wrongful death trial, it could be explosive. Among other things, Murray says:

-- Michael personally offered him the job of being his doctor on the "This Is It" tour

-- AEG actually wanted to hire a less expensive doctor, but Michael got his way with Murray

-- AEG never ordered Murray to give MJ any specific medical treatment. All requests came from Michael

-- AEG was not even aware of the medical treatment Michael was receiving. This point is critical

-- Michael despised AEG and referred to people who worked for the company as "snakes"

-- Michael had particular disdain for "This Is It" producer/director Kenny Ortega. MJ said he hated Ortega, who had no idea how much pain he was inflicting on Michael with the breakneck pace.

And Michael's venom extended to his family. Murray claims during the Jackson 5 Pay for View project, Joe (whom he called Papa Bear) demanded $1 million. Katherine (whom he called Mama Bear) also wanted $1 mil. And each of the brothers wanted $500k.

You gotta hear the audio.

Michael Jackson was not only addicted to powerful drugs 12 years before he died ... at least twice in the late 90s doctors misused a drug similar to Propofol so MJ could sleep through the night ... and we've learned that's exactly what MJ's former wife Debbie Rowe will tell the jury today.

Sources familiar with Debbie Rowe's testimony tell TMZ ... Rowe -- who will be called to the stand by AEG Live -- views herself as a hostile witness, because she feels AEG is largely responsible for MJ's death.

We've learned Rowe will testify ... in 1997 doctors administered Diprivan (a form of Propofol) to Michael in a Munich, Germany hotel room. We're told Rowe will say the drug was administered specifically so Michael could sleep. There was a full medical staff present and MJ slept under the influence of the drug for 8 hours. This occurred on 2 days, either consecutive or 1 day apart.

The testimony is significant because AEG is trying to show MJ was the master of his own fate and had misused Propofol for years.

But we've learned Rowe will also say while she was married to MJ she never saw him as a raging drug addict. She will testify he was addicted to Demerol ... which he used to deal with the pain and anxiety from scalp surgeries after being horribly burned. She says when she left Michael in July, 1997, he was not an out-of-control addict. In fact, he had gone to rehab and was open about it.

As TMZ first reported, Rowe injected Michael in the buttocks with Demerol and Vistaril several times while she worked for Dr. Arnold Klein -- MJ's closest doctor and confidante. Rowe had no idea in the last months of MJ's life Klein injected the singer with Demerol scores of times.

We've learned if asked ... Rowe will say she was horrified when she saw a TMZ video of Michael looking totally out of it as he left Dr. Klein's office days before he died. The day MJ passed, Rowe will testify she called Klein and said, "You killed him. What did you give him?"

We're told Rowe wants to tell the jury ... when the "This Is It" tour was announced and she heard the breakneck concert schedule, she told her shrink, "They're [AEG] gonna kill him."

It's Billie Jean vs. Titanic, and AEG claims the ship wins hands down. Translation -- AEG is trying to convince the Michael Jackson jury that Celine Dion is bigger than MJ.

AEG exec John Meglin is on the stand in the wrongful death case, scoffing at the Jackson family's claim that Michael would have earned $1.5 billion had he lived.

Meglin told the jury it's his opinion Celine is a bigger star and therefore more bankable than MJ ever would have been. Yet according to reports, Celine is worth a measly $400 mil.

Fun facts: Jackson ranks #3 in most albums sold worldwide -- more than a billion (behind the Beatles and Elvis) . Celine ranks #9 at 200 million albums.

Debbie Rowe will testify in the Michael Jackson wrongful death case that MJ was a SECRET, hardcore drug addict for decades -- testimony that could severely damage the Jackson's case.

Sources connected with the trial tell TMZ ... Rowe will be called by AEG Live Tuesday or Wednesday ... and she'll testify that in the '80s and '90s ... she knew Michael was abusing some prescription meds, but had no idea his habit was so out of control.

We're told Rowe will point the finger at her former boss, MJ's go-to doc, Arnie Klein. Rowe will testify she learned after the fact that Klein had a standing order ... when Michael came to the office he should be injected with Demerol and Vistaril (which makes the Demerol stronger).

Rowe will say Michael kept the extent of his drug abuse a secret from her -- something that will clearly help AEG, because the company is arguing it had no reason to know Michael was a drug abuser.

Rowe will say she saw Michael on TMZ coming out of Klein's office days before he died -- looking totally out of it. We're told she will say she called Klein after Michael died and said, "What the f**k did you give him? He's dead and it's your fault." She then hung up on him.

Rowe's testimony will further help AEG because she'll say she had no idea Michael was secretly going to surgical offices specifically for the purpose of getting high and going to sleep.

She'll also say she's the only person in Michael's world who could control him -- that she's the only one (including Michael's family) who would say "NO."

The testimony could be critical. If the jury believes Michael could hide his hardcore drug use, AEG would have no reason to sound an alarm or take preventative action.