FreddyO.com

Michael Jackson’s dad is putting the brakes on his legal pursuit of Dr. Conrad Murray. Joe Jackson has dropped his wrongful death lawsuit against the man convicted in the pop star’s 2009 death. Jackson’s attorney filed a request to dismiss the case Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, though it wasn’t immediately clear why the move was made to drop it. Joe Jackson had filed suit against AEG Live — the promoters behind the concert series Michael was working on at the time of his death. He claims the company was negligent in hiring Dr. Murray to care for his son. The lawsuit also named Applied Pharmacy Services, the company Joe says sold Murray the drugs that contributed to his son’s death.

A judge removed AEG Live from the lawsuit six months ago, leaving Murray and Applied Pharmacy Services in Joe’s legal crosshairs until he dropped the case Wednesday. A separate negligence lawsuit filed by Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, is still pending against AEG Live. That case is expected to go to trial next April. Murray, meantime, is serving out a four-year prison sentence for Michael’s death. He was convicted last November on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.