Michael & Janet Seek Return of Unsold Stuff

06/25/2007 12:07 PM, E! Online


Janet Jackson wants her 1980s-era contact info for Brooke Shields back.

The Blue Lagoon star's digits are among the 35 items that the Rhythm Nation singer is looking to get back from a Nevada court, which has impounded 60 items originally belonging to both Janet and Michael Jackson while the judge sorts out ownership issues and a potential contempt violation stemming from a Jackson memorabilia auction held last month in Las Vegas.

Michael Jackson is seeking the return of 25 items, including some autographed "We Are the World" sheet music, a collection of Three Stooges memorabilia, a notebook containing sketches, legal documents and a piece of Aboriginal art he was given in 1987 in honor of his record-breaking Thriller sales in Australia.

The items on his sister's list include her marriage certificate from her short-lived union with singer James DeBarge, script pages from a 1984 Diff'rent Strokes appearance and high school notes and doodles.

A contempt hearing has been set for July 16 to determine whether the Boca Raton, Florida-based Universal Express Inc. violated a court order by proceeding with the 1,100-lot sale even after Clark County District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez barred the aforementioned stuff from being placed on the auction block.

Gonzalez ordered that the 60 items be stored at the Regional Justice Center while the mess is sorted out. A hearing on the contents of the stash could be necessary if the Jackson sibs file a formal request to get the goods back.

The under-fire auction was held from May 30-31 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on behalf of Universal Express, which bought more than 20,000 pieces of memorabilia for $5 million from New Jersey construction company owner Henry Vaccaro.

Vaccaro obtained the items in a bankruptcy lawsuit settlement against the Jacksons' parents, Katherine and Joe, and brothers Tito and Jermaine.

It was originally Michael Jackson who filed suit to stop the auction from happening, but, under the terms of a confidential settlement, the sale was allowed to go forward—minus 25 items specified by the erstwhile King of Pop's attorneys.

Janet Jackson was made a party to that agreement on June 12, when Gonzalez ruled that Universal had violated her order to withhold some of the stash. The judge also ordered the luggage transportation company to pay some of Michael's legal expenses.

Universal Express attorney David DeToffol, meanwhile, has denied the charge and said that he instructed Guernsey's, the New York-based auction house that conducted the sale, to return the Jacksons' stuff to Universal because the Florida company was the original guardian of the items—not because he was trying to put one over on the judge.

A lawyer for Guernsey's said Monday that his client has no further stake in Universal's ongoing legal dispute and that Guernsey's had no problem complying with the June 8 court order to turn the 60 items over to the court. Fifty-eight have been delivered and two are in transit from the East Coast, attorney L. Joe Coppedge said.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Coppedge received word a day after the sale that DeToffol had no intention of giving the specified lots back to Jackson and would sue Guernsey's if the auction house didn't immediately return the items to Universal. 

On the monetary end, there is a difference of opinion as to how successful the first stage of Universal's planned multipart Jackson auction actually was.

Guernsey reported sales of $1 million, while Universal put the figure between $1.5 million and $2 million and waxed optimistic based on the initial results.

"The multiple legal and overly emotional court cases and repeated questions of ownership have generated news stories and have definitely complicated stage one of our initial 1,100 lot auction in Las Vegas," Universal Express chairman and CEO Richard Altomare said June 12 after learning of Gonzalez' ruling.

"I continue to stand behind our original estimate of $30 million to $200 million for the entire Jackson Memorabilia collection, due to the returning items…The more elaborate the table, the longer the preparation sometimes takes. To those desiring a fast meal, our media coverage should have been sufficient. To those desirous of a memorable feast, we will take whatever legal and negotiation times necessary to achieve our ultimate goals."