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A collection of Michael Jackson's possessions from Neverland Ranch is safe from the auctioneer's gavel now that the pop singer and Julien's Auction House have reached a settlement to their dispute over whether 2,000 items were ever intended for sale.
Specific terms were not disclosed Tuesday. But, in short, Jackson keeps his things, while Julien's keeps its exhibition, which was open to the public and originally meant to promote next week's sale
Jackson's production company, MJJ Productions, sued Julien in early March, seeking to halt the sale by arguing that Jackson hadn't authorized it. A judge blocked one effort by MJJ Productions to cancel it earlier this month, and another was scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday for an injunction.
Julien has said he spent $2 million organizing the sale, which another auctioneer estimated could have fetched $12 million after its April 22 start. The exhibition in Beverly Hills costs $20 to attend, and auction catalogues -- a $50 single volume and $200, five-volume boxed set -- were still selling, Julien said.
The singer has struggled financially following his arrest in 2003 on charges that he molested a 13-year-old boy. A jury acquitted him of all charges.
Last year he faced foreclosure on Neverland, the 2,500-acre property nestled in the hills of Santa Barbara County's wine country, 120 miles northwest of Los Angeles. He was bailed out by Colony Capital, and months later transferred the deed to Neverland to another entity he partially controls.
Jackson plans a series of concerts in London in July that he has said will be his last in the British capital.
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