Paris Jackson rolled the dice against her father\u2019s powerhouse estate \u2014 and it turned out to be a bust.<\/p>\n
The only daughter of pop king Michael Jackson\u00a0has been ordered to pay the same high-powered attorneys she accused of mishandling money in a court filing last month.<\/p>\n
A judicial referee struck nearly the entire petition she filed and granted the estate\u2019s request for attorney fees, according to a Nov. 13 ruling filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.<\/p>\n
Paris, 27, had accused longtime estate co-executors John Branca and John McClain of showering outside lawyers with \u201clavish gratuities\u201d and keeping the estates beneficiaries \u2014 herself, brothers Prince and Bigi, and Michael\u2019s mother Katherine \u2014 in the dark. <\/p>\n
She claimed the pair operated \u201clike the Wizard of Oz,\u201d controlling the flow of information while rewarding lawyers with six figure bonuses.<\/p>\n
Paris Jackson claims the pair \u2014 appointed on Jackson\u2019s death in 2009 \u2014 had been showering outside lawyers with what she called \u201clavish gratuities,\u201d to the tune of some $600,000 in bonuses and other payments. W Blanco \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n
The estate\u2019s team, music executive John McClain and attorney John Branca, had denied the allegations, saying their payments to lawyers were all as agreed and in line with managing the estate, which has been in probate since Michael\u2019s untimely 2009 death. <\/p>\n
A court referee found most of Paris\u2019s allegations were legally improper because they targeted protected court filings and granted the estate\u2019s Anti SLAPP motion, ruling Paris could not show \u201ca probability of success\u201d of her claims.<\/p>\n
Further to her own legal costs, she was ordered to pay the executors\u2019 legal tab. The final amount has yet to be determined.<\/p>\n
Family insiders note Paris sued the very people who turned her late father\u2019s financial collapse into a billion dollar empire. <\/p>\n
\u201cMichael died more than five hundred million dollars in debt. The estate not only cleared that, it built a fortune. For her to turn on them now is shocking,\u201d a longtime Jackson family associate told The Post.<\/p>\n
Attorney John Branca is one of the two executors who have turned the estate around and made it profitable \u2014 today it is thought to be worth $3 billion. Melanie Miller \/ BACKGRID<\/p>\n
Reclusive music executive John McClain has rarely been pictured since the 1980s, but has remained instrumental in the Michael Jackson estate. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Since Michael\u2019s death from\u00a0acute propofol intoxication<\/a> in 2009, the McClain and Branca have negotiated lucrative blockbuster deals, including \u201cMJ: The Musical,\u201d which continues to draw crowds on Broadway, and the half-billion-dollar sale of Jackson\u2019s music catalog to Sony. <\/p>\n The estate, once in crisis, is now estimated to be worth well over $3 billion, according to estimates.<\/p>\n Sources pointed to Paris\u2019 attorney, Craig M. Peters of Altair Law. While a heavyweight trial lawyer, he has little experience with estate management litigation which is a \u201cspecialized world,\u201d the sources explained.<\/p>\n Michael Jackson was the biggest pop star on the planet in the 80s and 90s, but his finances took a hit later in his life. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n Paris, 27, is very outspoken, but some in Jackson family circles say she is risking biting the hands that feeds her by accusing John Branca and John McClain. Paris Jackson\/Instagram<\/p>\n The result, observers say, was a legal faceplant with Jackson\u2019s petition falling at the first hurdle in the court system. However, sources say her battle is not over yet. <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not going to just give up,\u201d a family associate told the Post. The associate said they felt Paris\u2019 claims against the estate are likely driven by a third party \u2014 one who is steering her in the wrong direction. <\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s stubborn and she\u2019s getting disastrously bad advice,\u201d they alleged. <\/p>\n Paris with her brothers Prince (left) and Bigi (Right) at a recent premiere. Her brothers have generally stayed out of matters to do with the administration of the estate, sources told The Post. Alan Chapman\/Dave Benett\/Getty Images<\/p>\n A rep for Paris declined to commment to The Post. <\/p>\n