The Thriller hitmaker hired Nestor 'Zaldy' Goco to design his costumes for his This Is It tour after being introduced to him through manager Christopher Demers and choreographer Travis Payne.

According to the New York Daily News, after Goco was hired he agreed to pay Demers and Payne 20 per cent of his royalties, but he stopped paying the pair shortly after Jackson's death and they launched a lawsuit last year (14) alleging he owed them $480,000 (GBP300,000).

Demers says, "We tried to settle this amicably several times, but he repeatedly defaulted on his own proposed settlements. This was a mess."

Demers and Payne have now agreed to settle for 50 per cent of Goco's royalties from Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson ONE, which will likely run for 20 years.

Demers and Payne's attorney, David Trachtenberg, says, "The estimate is probably pretty good, but it may be conservative."