Michael Jackson auction is cancelled

AN AUCTION of Michael Jackson's personal items has been called off.

All the memorabilia taken from the singer's Neverland Ranch will be returned after an agreement was reached between his lawyers and Julien's Auction House in Hollywood.

Almost 1,400 items were due to go under the auctioneer's hammer next week but last month, Jackson's production company filed legal action claiming that the auction house had "effectively stolen" his property.

Lawyers claimed the sale had not been authorised but lawyers for Julien's said a contract, which gave the firm the right to sell the items, had been agreed.

Last night, a settlement was reached between them and Jackson's belongings, including his famous Swarovski crystal glove from the Billie Jean video and the gates of the Neverland Ranch, will now be returned to him.

Terms of the settlement have been kept confidential, but a lawyer for the auction house said: "Everyone is happy."

The auction house said recently that it spent $2 million (£1.3million) organizing the sale and experts predicted the lots could have fetched around $12 million (£8million).

Boss Darren Julien said today that he had no hard feelings against the singer and hoped to work with him again.

He said: "We're very happy with the settlement and we're open to working with Michael Jackson again.

"He's a client and we provided a service for him to put on a world-class exhibition and auction. The auction won't happen... but this has been a good experience for us.

"It's rare for an auction to fall through but we're not hurting for business and we're glad we got the chance to give the public and fans the chance to see Michael Jackson's Neverland collection up close."

A viewing of the auction items, that had opened to the public at the Beverly Hilton hotel hours before the sale was called off, will continue until 25 April when all the items will be returned to Jackson.