Victory of sorts for former Michael Jackson associate Marc Schaffel who, as previously reported, was suing Jacko over allegations the singer owed him substantial sums of money related to unpaid royalties and fees.
After asking a number of questions and hearing some repeat testimony, the jury decided that Jackson did owe his former associate money relating to two documentary projects and a somewhat shady trip to South America on the singer's behalf. However, they also ruled that Schaffel had taken some money from Jackson's accounts while working on their ultimately unproductive post-9/11 charity record project. Therefore they awarded Schaffel $900,000, but also awarded Jackson $200,000.
Both sides were upbeat about the result. Schaffel told reporters: "Obviously, I'm very happy. We got less than I asked for, but considering all the factors on what we were able to present, I'm pleased".
But in speaking for Jackson, attorney L Londell McMillan spoke as if his side had scored the victory, telling the media: "This is just the beginning of Michael fighting back. It's a new day for Michael Jackson. It should be something for people to think about in the future".
Of course, as seems to be the case with Jackson court cases, neither side came out of the proceedings completely untarnished. Commentators and, it would seem, jury members, had their doubts about both parties.
One juror, Irma Beard, was quoted in the press as saying: "The plaintiff [Schaffel] was not the most upstanding character and neither was the defendant [Jackson]", while another, Cathleen Yancy, said "From the very beginning we were saying, 'He's a sleazeball'". When asked who she was referring to, she said, seemingly unconcerned by the potentially slanderous nature of her remarks (given the conclusion of the criminal case against Jacko last year): "Both. I have issues with adult entertainment, but I also have issues with child molestation".
In terms of impact on reputation, Jacko probably came out worse. Schaffel was portrayed as a bit of a shady character, and his porn producing past was repeatedly touched upon, although that had been no secret from the outset. Attempts by Jackson's lawyers to distance the singer from any controversies relating to his business affairs on the basis that he wasn't really all that involved in such things seemed to be dismissed by recordings of telephone conversations in which Jacko talked about his business projects in some detail.
And then there's this mysterious trip to South America that Schaffel made on Jacko's behalf. Schaffel told the court last week that he had been sent to Brazil to "adopt some boys for Jackson", a remark that was criticised even by his own lawyer, but a remark that re-sparked various rumours on the gossip blogs, with some suggesting that Schaffel might have been delivering a financial settlement to the family of another boy about to make child-abuse allegations against the singer.
The judge hearing the case will now hold a separate accounting phase to finalise the exact figures each side will have to pay, during which Schaffel's payout may be even further reduced, though probably not, as some on Jacko's team were suggesting this weekend, to such an extent that he'll end up paying Jackson money.