A long-running legal dispute brought by Michael Jackson‘s family against his former concert promoters has finally come to an end – and it’s not one his estate were hoping for. 

Jackson died in June 2009 after being administered a lethal dose of propofol by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray was subsequently found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, and was jailed for four years. Jackson’s death occurred weeks before his much-trumpeted This Is It farewell tour, organised by behemoths AEG Live, was set to begin.

Earlier this year, Jackson’s three childen and his mother brought a civil case against AEG Live, claiming serious negligence on the company’s part. The Jackson family’s suit hinged on whether AEG Live were responsible for Murray’s hiring, and whether they had been remiss in allocating him to the troubled star. AEG Live, meanwhile, claimed that Murray had been hired entirely at Jackson’s request, that the company had no knowledge that he was being given the drug, and that they would have nixed the tour if they were aware his health was in serious danger.

As BBC News report, the jury has ruled in favour of AEG Live. After five month of deliberations, the panel unanimously ruled that, although AEG Live had hired Murray, they had acted reasonably in their assessment of Murray’s competence to practise.

Jury foreman Greg Barden explained the verdict as follows:

“We felt he was competent to do the job of general practitioner. Now that doesn’t mean that we thought he was ethical, and maybe had the word ethical been in the question, it could have been a different outcome.”

Over the course of the trial, jurors heard that Jackson had struggled with extreme nerves and insomnia in the run-up to the shows. Testimony came from over 50 witnesses, including Jackson’s mother and his eldest son.