CELEBRITY JUSTICE ™

Bad news for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ... the NBA legend has been ordered to pay more than $900k to a famous auction house for backing out of a deal to sell a bunch of his memorabilia ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Kareem had been at war with Julien's Auctions for years -- after a 2012 deal to sell 400 items went south. Kareem went to the auction house in 2014 and physically removed some of the items.

Julien's sued Kareem -- claiming they also made a $300k donation to his foundation as part of the deal to sell the items -- but he refused to refund the money when he backed out of the sale.

The case went to arbitration ... and Kareem lost.

Now, he's been ordered to pay more than $900k in damages PLUS interest and attorney's fees. He's also been ordered to return all the items he took.

Julien's president and CEO, Darren Julien, issued a statement saying, "It is very unfortunate that it had to come to this as we tried everything to come to an agreement with [Kareem and his manager] outside of the courts."

We reached out to Kareem's manager for comment -- so far, no word back.

The '70s classic "For the Love of Money" should no longer be associated with Donald Trump ... if The O'Jays get their way.

Of course, the song has been the 'Apprentice' theme for years now -- but soul music legends, The O'Jays just sent a cease and desist letter to Trump and Florida Rep. John Mica. The group is particularly upset about a video posted by the congressman praising Donald's involvement in a D.C. real estate deal. The 2014 clip features 'Love of Money.'

Eddie Levert and Walter Williams -- the OG O'Jays ... think the video sends mixed messages because they don't endorse Trump, his agenda or GOP views.

Truth is, the group didn't write the song ... so legally they don't have much say about its use. However, they're more concerned use of the song implies they're down with Trump, and that just ain't the case.

Eddie made that 100% clear when he was on "TMZ Live" last week complaining about "Love Train" being used at the RNC.

Teresa and Joe Giudice's wedding photos are at the center of a legal battle involving their photographer and a reality TV blog.

The wedding photog, Neil Clipper, is suing a NYC-based blog for using a pic from the Giudices' 1999 nuptials -- a shot he says he took, and the site used without his permission.

According to docs obtained by TMZ ... Neil says he owns the rights to the photo which was used for a 'Before They Were Famous' post on the 'Housewives.'

He included the pic in the lawsuit -- Joe and Teresa looked so young and innocent. Of course, Joe is 4 months into a 41-month prison stint for conspiracy to commit wire and bankruptcy fraud.

The families of Jenni Rivera's entourage members killed in her plane crash have been awarded a hefty payout from the private jet company.

A judge in L.A. ruled Wednesday Starwood Management -- owners of the downed Learjet -- must pay a total of $70 million to the loved ones of Jenni's publicist, makeup artist, hairstylist and lawyer. Rivera's plane went down in Mexico in 2012. Both pilots were also killed in the crash.

The $70 mil is a default judgment ... Starwood abandoned its defense in the case.

Jenni's family still has an active lawsuit going against Starwood.

Jerry Heller -- former N.W.A. manager and longtime foe of Dr. Dre -- is calling BS over the rap mogul's run-in with police in Malibu.

We got Jerry in Bev Hills and the way he sees it ... the controversy over Dre getting handcuffed really is black and white, and he thinks it's time for everyone to admit that.

Just last year Heller was suing Dre over the movie, "Straight Outta Compton," but on this topic -- Dre getting handcuffed and searched after a road rage incident -- he says he's firmly on Dre's side.

Ezekiel Elliott's not out of the woods yet ... because his accuser in the domestic violence case has gone to the city prosecutor -- which has launched a full investigation into her allegations.

We broke the story ... Elliott's ex-girlfriend told police the Dallas Cowboys running back struck her during an altercation in Ohio on Friday morning ... and had been physical with her earlier that week.

Four witnesses told cops they did NOT see Elliott lay a finger on the woman -- and cops say there was not enough evidence to make an arrest.

The accuser was told to follow up with the prosecutor's office if she wanted to move forward.

Well, now we know ... that's exactly what she did.

The city attorney's office confirms the accuser has already spoken with investigators and doesn't appear to want to drop the case anytime soon.

"We currently have an open investigation," a rep for the Columbus City Attorney tells TMZ Sports.

"We are collecting as much evidence as possible. Once the investigation is complete, our office will determine if there is sufficient evidence to establish probable cause. Basically, whether there is enough evidence to charge him or not."

Lindsay Lohan's got more than fiancé trouble ... a filmmaker is going after her for the $10,000 he claims he gave her without getting a damn thing in return.

Matt Martin made a movie called "Little Mermaid," not the Disney one, and approached a Lindsay associate about having her pump the flick to her nearly 5 million Instagram followers.

Matt says in the legal letter, obtained by TMZ, he struck a deal with Yossi Bechor back in October after learning he often arranged deals on Lindsay's behalf. He says the deal was $10k and executive producer credit ... for LiLo to post 3 promos for his film, but 3 months rolled by without a peep.

Martin says he's reached out to team Lindsay and Yossi several times to no avail. So now he's demanding he get the dough back, or he'll sue.

We reached out to Lindsay and Yossi, so far no word back.

Johnny Depp believes he can't get a fair shake in his courtroom showdown with Amber Heard until his lawyers grill her in a deposition -- and if that doesn't happen it could cost him dearly.

Depp's team was in court Tuesday for an emergency hearing to settle critical issues in the case. His side says Johnny has every right to confront Amber over her "meritless" accusations of domestic violence.

In docs, Depp says if he can't depose her he'll be behind the 8 ball in his effort to defend himself, and could lose the case. And there's this -- he's worried a loss could affect him emotionally and financially. He points out a permanent restraining order would appear on future credit checks.

Yes, even with an estimated net worth of $400 mil ... he's worried about credit.

As we reported ... Amber's depo has been delayed because they couldn't agree on a date, but the judge settled the matter. It's now scheduled for August 6 -- a Saturday.

Jay Mohr was serious about sticking with Nikki Cox ... even though he filed divorce docs, he now wants to drop the whole thing.

Jay filed a request for dismissal Monday in L.A. -- just 6 days after the divorce petition. As we reported ... Jay told us last week he and Nikki are "Very in love. Very happy and that's really all there is."

It was clear they were trying to work things out, and a source close to the couple tells us there was a "full reconciliation" over the weekend.

The dismissal also covers Jay's emergency petition to get full physical custody of their 5-year-old son.

Conrad Murray still insists he didn't have a hand in Michael Jackson's death -- despite his guilty conviction and 2 years in jail -- and even believes he wasn't the worst doctor in MJ's life.

Murray was on "TMZ Live" to talk about the new book he wrote about Michael, who was his patient and friend. But Murray claims Jackson concealed details about other drugs he was on -- besides the Propofol administered by Murray.

Watch the clip ... Murray refused to own up to having any role in Michael's homicide -- instead he backed up the bus over the late Dr. Arnold Klein.

By the way, Murray's claims about getting railroaded by the coroner and Propofol not being in Michael's system? Read the report ... he's got it wrong.

You can see the rest of the interview on Tuesday's "TMZ Live."

Russell Taylor -- the ex-CEO of Jared Fogle's charity -- claims the secret cameras he installed in his home weren't meant to record child porn.

Taylor, who is serving a 27-year sentence for child porn and child exploitation, is responding to a lawsuit filed by one of his alleged victims who claims he knowingly recorded child porn and shared the material with Fogle.

In his handwritten doc, obtained by TMZ, Taylor says, "This was not the purpose I set the cameras up for." But on the claim he shared the footage with Fogle -- he pleads the 5th.

He also says he's broke and doesn't have a lawyer ... hence the handwritten response.

TMZ Sports has obtained insane footage of ex-NFL quarterback Marcus Vick -- Michael Vick's brother -- literally running from cops during an incident back in April ... before being captured at gunpoint.

Atlantic Records wants the identity of the person who leaked a song off the "Suicide Squad" soundtrack, and it's demanding Reddit help find the culprit.

In docs, Atlantic says it sent a few digital copies of the Twenty One Pilots track "Heathens" to a tight-knit group ... roughly a week before it was scheduled to drop to the public.

The recipients included the band and several label execs, but the following day the track surfaced online. Atlantic says someone uploaded it to Dropfile.io, then shared the link on Reddit.

Atlantic says it was ultimately forced to release the song later the next day, and therefore lost revenue since the planned marketing campaign was still a week away.

They want the court to issue a subpeona to Reddit to identify the users who posted the track.

Rapper Burberry Perry straight up jacked an iconic name and logo to grow his fan base on the back of a centuries-old brand ... so claims that company in a new lawsuit.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Burberry -- the famous British luxury line -- wants the rapper to ditch the name and logo he intentionally stole to market himself on social media.

The company says Burberry Perry lifted a name that goes all the way back to 1856 in the UK. Plus ... they claim he deliberately stole the brand's globally recognized plaid print and equestrian knight logo Perry uses on his album cover.

What's more ... Perry also made the drastic step to mimic Burberry's font ... and now the company fears customers will think it sponsored or is somehow connected to Perry.

Burberry sent Perry cease and desist letters to get him to stop using the name and logos. He ignored it.

The company's now suing to get the rapper to drop the act.

Ezekiel Elliott doesn't look like he's too worried about last week's domestic violence allegations -- posting a photo to social media with a big ol' smile on his face.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Elliott's ex-GF claimed the Dallas Cowboys star struck her during a parking lot altercation early Friday morning -- and later claimed he had a history of violence against her.

But cops spoke with 4 witnesses who say they never saw Elliott lay a finger on the woman -- and in the end, officers did NOT arrest Elliott because they didn't feel there was enough evidence to prove he committed a crime.

Johnny Depp's making it damn near impossible to get the divorce settlement rolling because he's put up a bunch of roadblocks in the case ... according to Amber Heard.

In Amber's legal docs, obtained by TMZ, she accuses Johnny of refusing to hand over financial docs needed to settle the divorce case. As we've reported ... Depp's team wants her to sign a non-disclosure agreement before giving up the goods.

But in the docs, Amber says the non-disclosure agreement is ridiculous because it calls for a $100k fine each time his financial info is leaked -- not just by Amber, but even by her forensic accountant. Amber says it's an outrageous demand ... and just a ploy to thwart real progress in this case.

Of course, Johnny's team would say ... the fine won't matter if the agreement isn't violated.

The other issue -- setting a date for Amber's deposition. His side has proposed August 3 and 8, but Amber says she's scheduled to be in London working on "Justice League." She's offered to fly back on a Saturday, but she says Johnny's team isn't willing to work weekends.

Both sides are due in court Tuesday to hammer out the issues.