Foreclosure for Michael Jackson’s Infamous Neverland Ranch?
By: Gerri L. Elder
For months and months, rumors circulated in the media that Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was in foreclosure or about to be foreclosed on, but no one had produced any documents to show that this was actually the case.
Then, in early November, the news broke that Neverland was, in fact, in foreclosure. A representative for Michael Jackson was quick to issue a statement that the Neverland estate was not in foreclosure because Michael Jackson has never been in default on the mortgage loan.
After Michael Jackson's camp denied reports of the foreclosure, the website The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter produced documents to prove otherwise. The website published a "Notice of Default and Election to Sell" that was recorded on October 26, 2007 in the office of the County Recorder in Santa Barbara, California as proof that the Neverland Ranch is actually in foreclosure. The reason? As of October 12, 2007, Michael Jackson owed $23,212,963.83 and the payments have not been made.
Michael Jackson has not lived at Neverland Ranch since the end of his trial for alleged child molestation. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was cleared of all charges against him after a highly publicized trial. He had been accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor, plying the child with alcoholic drinks and conspiring to abduct, extort and falsely imprison the boy and his family. Shortly after the trial, Jackson moved to the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain.
Although it was a huge relief, the end of the criminal trial was not the end of Michael Jackson's legal—and apparent financial—troubles.
In late 2005, PETA filed a complaint which spurred an investigation into the treatment of the animals at the Neverland Ranch. The Department of Agriculture sent an inspector to the 2600-acre ranch, and no mistreatment of the animals was found.
In March, 2006, Michael Jackson was fined $69,000 and his workers were barred from the Neverland Ranch when it was discovered that Jackson had let his workers' compensation insurance policy lapse. Forty-seven of Jackson's employees at Neverland also claimed that they had not been paid and that wages in the amount of $306,000 were owed to them by Jackson. State regulators ordered Jackson to pay the back wages plus $100,000 in penalties.
In April 2006, a $10 million lawsuit filed by Michael Jackson against a New Jersey man for memorabilia that Jackson claimed had been stolen from him was thrown out. The judge dismissed the case because Jackson apparently abandoned it.
In June 2006, Jackson was sued for $3.8 million by a former associate for unpaid loans and expenses, salary for work on a charity album and proceeds from two television specials that were produced in an attempt to launder Jackson's tattered reputation after the child molestation trial. The associate's claim was reduced to $1.8 million, and he was eventually awarded $900,000. However, Jackson won $200,000 in a cross-complaint.
Since he left Neverland, Jackson has also legally wrangled with his ex-wife, the mother of two of his children, lawyers who have represented him, and a concert promoter.
The Neverland estate is currently said to be in disrepair. Jackson can still attempt to save the property from foreclosure if he pays the past due amounts and cures the default on the property, or sells the property and seals the deal before the foreclosure proceedings begin.