Sony Music Entertainment can’t use California free speech protections to avoid a consumer lawsuit over the the authenticity of songs on a Michael Jackson album released after the singer’s death, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The controversy is over a disc released after Jackson’s 2009 death following some Jackson family members disputing whether he was the singer on three of the album’s nine tracks.

The justices reversed the appeals court, holding a consumer had demonstrated her claims related to Michael Jackson’s packaging and promotional video have sufficient merit, and rejected Sony’s commercial speech arguments.

“Perhaps in another context the First Amendment would limit the reach of our consumer protection laws, but Sony’s album-back promise and video are commercial advertising making claims about a product, and we will not place them beyond the reach of state regulation,” Associate Justice Martin Jenkins wrote for the court.

Sony argued the tracks were sung by the self-proclaimed “King of Pop.” A lawsuit purporting to represent “thousands” of fans alleged Sony’s statements misled consumers into purchasing the album, in violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

“We recognize artistic works such as albums, in some instances, enjoy robust First Amendment protections, but that does not turn all...

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