$20M judgment in Jackson case tossed

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A court in Los Angeles has tossed out a $20 million judgment against a now-defunct charter airline in a case involving the late pop star Michael Jackson.

A trial court had ruled the company, XtraJet, must pay $20 million for secretly videotaping Jackson and his attorneys during a 2003 flight from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara, Calif., where Jackson was to turn himself in to police to answer child molestation charges.

California's 2nd District Court of Appeal found the judgment against XtraJet and its owner Jeffrey Borer was excessive, Legal NewsLine reported. The court ordered the trial court to take up the case again.

Jackson attorney Mark Geragos filed the lawsuit against XtraJet after the Fox News Channel reported it had seen the videotape. The owner of XtraJet has pleaded guilty to conspiracy for secretly taping Jackson and his lawyers, Legal NewsLine said.