As a result, he put off his decision on whether to approve the two deals until August 17.

An attorney for AEG Live, which spent as much as $30 million preparing for the comeback concerts, had argued that to help recoup its investment it needed to move quickly to take advantage of the resurgence in the singer's popularity.

Several of the "Thriller" singer's albums, for instance, have returned to the top of the music charts in recent weeks, whereas before his death his CD sales had languished.

"The longer we wait, the more time passes, frankly the less interest there will be on the part of the public to come see the exhibit," said Kathy Jorrie, an attorney for AEG Live.

Jackson's "Number Ones" CD, originally released in 1993, is the second-best selling album of 2009 in the United States, with sales this year of 1.4 million copies, according to tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan. Only Taylor Swift's 2008 release "Fearless," with 1.5 million copies sold so far this year, stands in the way.

Jackson was said to be as much as $500 million in debt when he died, but the value of his estate was reported to be as high as $1 billion given his part ownership in a music catalog and his control of his own songs.

Jorrie told the judge that attorneys for his mother have demanded AEG Live give the estate its rehearsal video, something that AEG is not willing to do. AEG is owned by reclusive Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz.