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Tuesday, July 17, 2007

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LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson has been told to pay more than $256,000 in legal fees to a firm that handled some side issues during his 2005 child molestation trial.

A Superior Court judge signed a judgment Friday that awarded $216,837 along with $39,177 in interest to the Torrance firm of Ayscough & Marar, according to court records.

Jackson's attorney, Marshall Brubacher, agreed in principle to the judgment June 26 when he told the judge that going to trial would be costlier and "we want to stop the hemorrhaging."

The law firm sued the 48-year-old pop star for failing to pay legal fees for preventing the release of some information to the public and to lawyers in civil cases during his 2005 criminal trial in Santa Barbara County. Jackson was eventually acquitted of child molestation charges.

Jackson countersued the law firm but that case was dismissed.

Ayscough & Marar also helped defend Jackson against a lawsuit that claimed the singer owed $1.4 million to former business associate Marc Schaffel.

Last year, a jury awarded Schaffel $900,000 and awarded Jackson $200,000 in a countersuit against Schaffel.

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