A California appeals court has issued a final ruling allowing Michael Jackson’s estate to proceed with the $600 million sale of the singer’s catalog to Sony Music, rejecting his mother’s objections aimed at blocking the deal.

A month after the Court of Appeal made a preliminary ruling against Katherine Jackson, the court made its final decision on Wednesday. It ruled that the executors (Johannes Branca And John McClain) did not violate the terms of Michael’s will when they signed the gigantic contract with Sony.

“The will gave the executors broad powers to sell, with no exception for the assets at issue in this case,” the court wrote. “Therefore, (a lower judge) did not err in concluding that it was Michael’s intent to allow the executors to sell any assets of the estate, including those at issue in the proposed transaction.”

In addition to the substantive aspects of the deal, the court also dismissed Katherine’s appeal on a simpler ground: she had “forfeited” her arguments by failing to present them in a lower probate court.

Katherine’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She can still appeal the ruling to the California Supreme Court, but her chances of overturning the verdict are slim.

As reported by Billboard Earlier this year, Jackson’s estate and Sony Music reached an agreement that would see the music giant purchase half of the singer’s publishing and recording catalog for over $600 million.

However, with Jackson’s estate still pending in Los Angeles probate court more than 15 years after his death in 2009, his executors accepted the then-confidential deal Judge Mitchell Beckloff for approval. When they did, Katherine raised objections – among other things, that the sale had “violated Michael’s wishes” and that the catalogue, if kept, would likely continue to increase in value over time.

In April 2023, Beckloff rejected those objections and ruled that the deal could move forward. Katherine then appealed, resulting in Wednesday’s ruling.

In the new decision, the court rejected a number of key arguments raised by Katherine, including her claim that the sale would violate basic inheritance rules because it would prevent all of Michael’s assets from being passed on to his heirs. The court explained that Michael’s will gave Branca and McClain “full power and authority” to make such transactions while they had control of the estate.

“The proposed transaction is not a gift or distribution of estate assets – it is an asset sale in which the estate receives a substantial cash payment and an interest in a joint venture,” the court wrote. “Although the proposed transaction results in the estate exchanging assets for cash and other valuable rights, it does not reduce the value of the estate nor does it affect the future ability of the executors to transfer the estate’s assets to the trust.”

The dispute over the Sony deal has exposed the rifts between Jackson’s heirs. In March, Jackson’s son Blanket asked the judge to prevent his grandmother from using the estate’s assets to finance her efforts to prevent the Sony deal. Although both initially opposed the sale, Blanket and Jackson’s other children accepted the probate judge’s ruling allowing the deal to go through.

Later that same week, the estate responded to claims by Katherine’s lawyers that she needed estate funds to finance her legal battle, arguing that she had received more than $55 million since the singer’s death. The estate’s executors argued that “virtually no request by Ms. Jackson for her care or support has been denied,” including more than $33 million in cash.

A representative of the estate administrators declined to comment on Wednesday’s decision.