Jacko Auction cancelled, exhibit on

A scheduled auction of Jacko's prized possessions was called off Tuesday after the pop icon’s legal team and Julien's Auction House reached a settlement to their dispute over whether 2,000 items from Neverland Ranch were ever intended for sale.

"I can tell you that both parties today agreed not to move forward with the auction on April 22," Martin Nolan, executive director of Julien's Auctions, told AFP. "The collection will stay together to be returned to Michael Jackson and MJJ Productions."

Jackson’s company, MJJ Productions had been attempting to stop the upcoming April 22-25 auction, which offered hundreds of items including Jackson’s American Music Award for “Thriller”, a basketball autographed by Michael Jordan, a cape given by Jackson’s children, his own artwork, a Rolls-Royce, clothing, furniture and a customized Harley Davidson.

Jackson’s production house had filed a lawsuit against Julien’s Auction House in March seeking to stop thousands of his treasured possessions from being auctioned off and get unspecified items back.

In its lawsuit, MJJ Productions had claimed that the auction house illegally took Jackson’s possessions. However, Julien claimed that the auction house was contracted by Jackson's production company to take all of the items from Neverland with the intention of selling them all.

Now, the two parties have reached an agreement that allows Jacko to keep his belongings, while Julian's could keep the exhibition.

In a joint statement, Jackson's spokesman Dr. Tohme R. Tohme and auction organizer Darren Julien said: "There was so much interest from so many of Jackson's fans that instead of putting the items in the hands of private collectors, Dr. Tohme and Julien's Auction House have made arrangements that will allow the collection to be shared with and enjoyed by Jackson's fans for many years to come."

"The auction isn't going to take place. We wanted to reach an agreement (with Jackson) and we have reached one today that is mutually acceptable and beneficial," said Julien.

"It's been our hopes to resolve this in the beginning, when the lawsuit was filed," Julien added. "It was in our best interest to resolve it. We continue to have great respect for Michael Jackson. ... I guess you could call it the greatest auction that never happened."

A public exhibit of the 1,400 items which opened on Tuesday in Beverly Hills will continue until April 25. And, all the items that include a single crystal white glove worn in the singer's "Billie Jean" performances and the gates to his Neverland Ranch in California would be returned to the “King of Pop” when the exhibit closes, Julien said.