U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck in New York ruled for La Toya Jackson on Aug. 5 in rejecting a motion to reopen her Chapter 11 case. Jackson filed in 1995 and emerged from bankruptcy in 1999.
A trust representing four unsecured creditors who were receiving monthly royalty payments from Jackson had not received any of the money because the distributions had all gone to administrative expenses, according to court records. The creditors’ trust had sought to extend its terms beyond the expiration date of March 31, 2011.
The Debtor dedicated to the Trust the right to receive those royalty payments for a term of years, not in perpetuity.” The judge said it “would be unfair for Ms. Jackson to take more of her royalties because of things that were beyond her control.”
Other entertainers also had a good day. Actor Sacha Baron Cohen won dismissal of a copyright infringement lawsuit alleging that a scene from his 2009 film Brüno ripped off a lawyer-turned-scriptwriter.
