Token payout after being “subjected to ridicule”.

A French court has awarded five Michael Jackson fans one euro each for “emotional damage” they endured after the pop star’s death in 2009.

The unusual case saw 34 fans sue Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray, who was jailed in 2011 for administering a lethal dose of the anaesthetic drug propofol to the ailing singer.

The court in Orleans ruled that five fans, who were all members of the France-based Michael Jackson Community fan club, had proved their emotional suffering and awarded them symbolic damages of one euro each.

The lawyer for the claimants – who are from France, Switzerland and Belgium – said they had proved their suffering “with the help of witness statements and medical certificates.”

“As far as I know this is the first time in the world that the notion of emotional damage in connection with a pop star has been recognised,” Emmanuel Ludot told reporters.

“They have been subjected to ridicule and I am delighted their suffering has been taken seriously by the law.”

The five fans now hope that the ruling will help them gain access to Jackson’s grave in Los Angeles, which is closed to the public.

The fallout from MJ’s death continues to rumble through the courts, with the singer’s mother Katherine Jackson recently denied a new trial in her wrongful death lawsuit against AEG, the concert promoter behind what would have been Jackson’s big comeback at London’s O2 Arena.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s legendary producer Quincy Jones has filed $10 million lawsuit claiming that master recordings he worked on were edited and remixed to deprive him of earnings. [via BBC]