As widely reported in the mainstream media, Michael Jackson’s MJJ Productions has filed a lawsuit against Julien’s Auctions for the return of personal property from the Neverland Ranch that was consigned to the auction house with a sale planned for April 22-April 25, 2009 in Beverly Hills. Having reviewed the Plaintiff’s declarations in support of the motion for injunction as well as the Consignment Agreement, it should prove interesting to learn how the courts ultimately rule on the case.
NOTE: I have no legal background or training, so what follows are questions and observations from a layman.
I have reviewed the “DECLARATIONS OF TOHME R. TOHME, JAMES WELLER AND JOSEPH MARCUS IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION” filed on March 23, 2009 with the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles.
Per Tohme Tohme, President of MJJ Productions, Inc., as part of a deal with Colony Capital LLC, MJJ Productions was required to remove all of Michael Jackson’s personal property from his Neverland Ranch within a 90-day time frame in the middle of 2008. Further details as to the reasons for this are not explained in any detail in the declarations (note: there is some additional information on Wikipedia).
To accomplish this, Mr. Tohme explains in his declaration filed with the court that he contacted Darren Julien of Julien’s Auctions to “auction off certain property from Neverland that Michael Jackson no longer wanted or needed”.
Mr. Tohme claims that it was agreed to in discussions with Mr. Julien – prior to entering into a written agreement – that all items from Neverland would be moved into storage and Mr. Jackson could subsequently review an inventory list and photos to determine 1) which items would be kept as his private property and 2) which items would be made available for sale in the public auction. Further, Mr. Tohme claims to have told Mr. Julien that certain items could not be sold.
The case put forth by Michael Jackson’s MJJ Productions is founded on the following, per Mr. Tohme:
- Mr. Tohme claims that he relied upon Mr. Julien’s verbal representations (again, prior to the execution of the Consignment Agreement) that all property would be moved from Neverland to a storage facility “before any determination would be made regarding which items would be included in the auction”.
- Mr. Tohme claims that he himself was not authorized by Michael Jackson to grant any company the right to sell Mr. Jackson’s personal property.
The Plaintiff also makes a case against Julien’s Auctions based on claims of violations of California Civil Codes:
- That the name of the auction company listed on the Consignment Agreement – “Julien’s Auctions, LLC” – is not the true name of the company – “Julien’s Auction House, LLC” (Civil Code 1812.600 and 1812.609)
- The Consignment Agreement does not list the auction house business address and business phone number (Civil Code 1812.608(d)(1))
- The Consignment Agreement does not list “[a]n inventory of the item or items to be sold at auction” (Civil Code 1812.608(d)(2))
- The Consignment Agreement does not “explicitly state which party shall be responsible for advertising and other expenses” (Civil Code 1812.608(d)(3))
- The Consignment Agreement does not state the “approximate date or dates when the item or items will be sold at auction” (Civil Code 1812.608(d)(4))
- The Consignment Agreement does not have a “disclosure that the auctioneer or auction company has a bond on file with the Secretary of State” (Civil Code 1812.608(d)(6)
The above referenced California Civil Code citations can be found on the State of California website: www.leginfo.ca.gov
Consequences for violations of some of these requirements are unclear, while others result in fines of hundreds of dollars.
In performing a search on LLCs on the State of California website, it shows the business name filed with the Secretary of State for Julien’s Auctions is “JULIEN’S AUCTION HOUSE, LLC”:
In performing a search on Fictitious Business Names on the Los Angeles County website, it shows that one of the DBAs for Julien’s Auctions is “JULIENS AUCTIONS” (filed 06/28/08 – 10 days prior to the execution of the Consignment Agreement):
The name consistently employed on the company website, JuliensAuctions.com, is “Julien’s Auctions”.
In reviewing the actual Consignment Agreement (signed by Mr. Tohme on July 2, 2008), it is clear that the “CONSIGNED PROPERTY” is defined as everything that Julien’s Auctions took into its possession from Neverland Ranch:
All movable and removable personal property located at Neverland Ranch that we take possession of and any other property that you might choose to deliver to us
Also, under “YOUR REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES”, the Consignment Agreements states, in part:
You represent and warrant to us and each purchaser (A.) that you have the right to consign the Property for sale; (B.) that it is now and will be kept free from all liens, encumbrances and claims…
Under “WITHDRAWL”, the Consignment Agreement states, in part:
You may not withdraw your Property from sale after the date upon which you sign this Agreement or Consignment Receipt, whichever is earlier.
Under “AMENDMENT”, the Consignment Agreement states:
Neither you nor we may amend, supplement or waive any provision of this Agreement other than by means of a writing signed by both parties.
The Consignment Agreement is “ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO”, signed by “Dr. Tohme Tohme” on July 2, 2008, below the statement:
THE PERSON SIGNING BELOW ON BEHALF OF MJJ PRODUCTIONS, INC. HEREBY CERTIFIES THAT SUCH PERSON HAS AUTHORITY TO SIGN ON BEHALF OF MJJ PRODUCTIONS, INC.
In light of the Consignment Agreement, this would appear to be in conflict with the declaration (“under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California”) made by Tohme R. Tohme on March 18, 2009 that:
I was not authorized by Michael Jackson to give Julien’s Auction House, LLC or any other company or person the right to sell any of Michael Jackson’s personal property.
Below is a scan of the “Auction Consignment Agreement” between MJJ Productions and Julien’s Auctions, LLC:
Below are excerpts from a scan of the “DECLARATIONS OF TOHME R. TOHME, JAMES WELLER AND JOSEPH MARCUS IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION” filed on March 23, 2009 with the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles:
Given that Tohme R. Tohme serves as President of MJJ Productions, Inc. (the Plaintiff), I would anticipate that the court will question his actions in this case.
If Mr. Tohme was aware of specific and mandated requirements that Michael Jackson reserve the right to review all consigned property to determine what would be offered for sale and what would be returned as private property, did Tohme not have the responsibility to ensure that such requirements were clearly stipulated in the Consignment Agreement that he reviewed and executed with Julien’s Auctions? If it did not meet his requirements, should he not have amended it to meet his requirements or not have signed it at all?
More, if Tohme Tohme, President of MJJ Productions, “was not authorized by Michael Jackson to grant any company the right to sell Mr. Jackson’s personal property”, how can he later file suit against Julien’s Auctions after having misrepresented his authority with regards to the property and assets?
Related OPB Articles:
- Auction House Controversies In The News: Christie’s & China, Antiquorium & India, Julien’s Auctions & Michael Jackson
- Auction Network Pulls The Plug On Julien’s Auctions Amid Michael Jackson Lawsuit Controversy
- Superior Court Lawsuit Filing: Michael Jackson’s MJJ Productions, Inc. vs Julien’s Auction House, LLC
- Michael Jackson & Julien’s Auctions Lawsuit Update, Claims of Threats: “Lives Are At Stake and There Will Be Bloodshed”
Jason De Bord