Michael Jackson's former lawyer Mark Geragos was awarded $12 million in damages yesterday at the conclusion to the civil case relating to the filming of the legal man and Jacko back in 2003 as the two flew to Santa Barbara where the singer was facing arrest over those child abuse allegations.
As previously reported, as the Jacko abuse allegation story broke Jeffrey Borer and Arvel Jett Reeves, who arranged a private plane for Geragos and his client, secretly filmed their passengers as they flew across America, and then tried to sell the footage of their conversation to the media. The media turned down their offers, the duo were shopped to the authorities, and both were found guilty of conspiracy charges for making and trying to sell the video without Geragos' or Jackson's knowledge or permission. Reeves was jailed for eight months, Borer got six months home detention.
Geragos launched civil proceedings against Borer and his company XtraJet on invasion-of-privacy grounds. The courts found in the lawyer's favour yesterday awarding him a substantial payout, though Borer's legal reps immediately announced their intent to appeal the ruling.
Jackson has not pursued civil action against either Borer or Reeves.