MICHAEL JACKSON - JACKSON JUROR SUES OVER BOOK DEAL

A juror on the MICHAEL JACKSON child molestation trial is suing a California publisher, claiming he was misled into signing a book deal with the company.

RAY HULTMAN, 62, alleges publisher LARRY GARRISON - owner of SilverCreek Entertainment - talked him and his wife into signing a deal to co-write THE DELIBERATOR with writer STACY BROWN, following Jackson's acquittal of all charges in June (05).

Hultman was one of the 12 jurors who deliberated for 32 hours and unanimously found the THRILLER singer not guilty of molesting teen cancer sufferer GAVIN ARVIZO in 2003.

On US TV show RITA COSBY: LIVE AND DIRECT last month (AUG05), Hultman alleged he felt threatened by the Santa Maria, California court's jury foreman PAUL RODRIGUEZ during the trial and now regrets acquitting Jackson of the charges.

In a lawsuit filed in Santa Maria Superior Court, Hultman is seeking to opt out of his book deal and is asking for unspecified damages for mental and emotional stress.

In the suit, Hultman claims he was shocked by reports his book proposal contained text, plagiarised from a feature in Vanity Fair magazine, and the reports had damaged his reputation and book deal.

The suit states, "Mr Hultman was caused to expend substantial time in writing portions of a book proposal which turned out to be valueless give the aforementioned plagiary."