Michael Jackson's father suing Vegas pharmacy
A judge ruled today that singer Michael Jackson's father can move forward with a negligence claim against a Las Vegas pharmacy concerning the death of his son.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson finalized a tentative ruling he issued Wednesday in which he found that the details in the suit filed Nov. 30 establish a basic case for negligence against Applied Pharmacy Services.
Joe Jackson's suit alleges company officials shipped propofol to the entertainer's physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, at a residential address in Santa Monica even though they should have known the amounts were excessive and not going to be used for legitimate medical purposes.
Federal regulations prohibit pharmacies from shipping certain drugs like propofol, typically used in a clinical setting during surgery, to a location not registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The entertainer died June 25, 2009, at age 50 of acute propofol intoxication.
Lawyers for the pharmacy maintained the company had no obligation to warn the singer of the drug's effects and that Murray's alleged actions caused his death.
The 82-year-old Jackson family patriarch also sued Murray in the same lawsuit, alleging wrongful death. The physician's lawyers maintain he waited too long to file the case, but Johnson has asked for more information before ruling on a motion to dismiss the part of the case against Murray.
Murray has pleaded not guilty in
a separate criminal case in which he is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the singer's death. Jury selection in his trial is under way in downtown Los Angeles.
Joe Jackson initially filed a wrongful death claim against Murray in U.S. District Court last June 25. However, a federal judge declined to hear the case and said it should be brought in Superior Court.
The complaint alleges Murray was negligent in administering propofol to Jackson and that he did not tell paramedics that he gave the singer the drug.
