The Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music have reached an agreement to end a years-long false advertising lawsuit over the release of songs allegedly sung by an impersonator, Billboard reports. The settlement for the case, which was originally filed by Vera Serova, arrives as both sides awaited a decision from the California Supreme Court.
“Regardless of how the Supreme Court may rule, the parties to the lawsuit mutually decided to end the litigation, which would have potentially included additional appeals and a lengthy trial court process,” Sony and the estate said in a statement to Billboard.
Sony and the estate recently pulled three songs from Jackson’s posthumous 2010 album Michael from streaming platforms: “Breaking News,” “Monster,” and “Keep Your Head Up.” The statement noted that removing the songs was “the simplest and best way to move beyond the conversation associated with these tracks once and for all.”
This case has been moving through different courts for years. At one point in 2018, an appeals court threw the case out. The lawsuit had been pending in the California Supreme Court for more than two years. It’s currently unknown whether or not the court will still rule on the case despite the settlement.
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