Court overturns Quincy Jones' win in Michael Jackson lawsuit

 A California appeals court on Tuesday overturned most of a 2017 jury verdict awarding Quincy Jones $9.4 million in royalties and fees from Michael Jackson estate over use of Jones-produced Jackson hits in concert film “This Is It” and two Cirque du Soleil shows.

state's 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that jury misinterpreted a contract that was judge's job to interpret anyway. It took away $6.9 million that jurors h said MJJ Productions owed Jones for his work on “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” and more of Jackson's biggest hits.

appeals court found that jury wrongly granted Jones money from licensing fees, wrongly went beyond 10% royalty rate Jones was owed for record sales, and incorrectly granted Jones money for remixes of Jackson's master recordings.

court kept intact $2.5 million of award, which Jones said he was owed for use of his masters in “This Is It” and or fees.

court also rejected a counter-appeal from 87-year-old Jones arguing that trial court should have allowed him to make a claim of financial elder abuse.

“While we disagree with portions of Court’s decision and are evaluating our options going forward, we are pleased that Court affirmed jury’s determination that MJJP failed to pay Quincy Jones more than $2.5M that it owed him,” Jones' attorney J. Michael Hennigan said in a statement.

Jones, who was alrey a music business giant when he produced classic Jackson albums “Off Wall,” “Thriller” and “B,” h sought $30 million from estate when he first filed lawsuit in 2013.

“Quincy Jones was last person we thought would try to take vant of Michael Jackson by filing a lawsuit three years after he died asking for tens of millions of dollars he wasn’t entitled to,” Jackson attorney Howard Weitzman said in a statement. “We knew verdict was wrong when we heard it, and court of appeal has completely vindicated us.”

On stand during trial, Jones was asked by Weitzman wher he realized he was essentially suing Jackson himself.

Jones angrily disagreed.

“I’m t suing Michael,” he said. “I’m suing you all.”

trial centered on definitions of terms in two contracts Jackson and Jones signed in 1978 and 1985.

Under deals, for example, Jones is entitled to a share of net receipts from a “videoshow” of songs. Jackson attorneys argued that term was meant to apply to music videos and t feature films like “This Is It.”

film was created from rehearsal foot for a comeback tour that Jackson was working toward when he died in 2009 at 50.

“So many people have tried to take vant of Michael and mischaracterize him since his death," Jackson estate co-executor John Branca said in a statement Tuesday. “It’s gratifying that in this case court in an overwhelmingly favorable and just decision, recognizes that Michael Jackson was both an ermous talent and an extremely fair business executive.”