Arrr! The legal squabbles o'er Michael Jackson's alleged misconduct may yet be afloat once more, me hearties!
2023-07-26
Avast, ye scurvy dogs! 'Tis bein' said that two men, claimin' that Michael Jackson did lay a hand upon 'em inappropriately, might be seein' their cases given new life in a California court on Wednesday. Aye, their previous claims were thrown out in the year o' 2021.
Two lawsuits against Michael Jackson, which were previously dismissed, may be revived as a California appeals court considers sending the cases back to a lower court for trial. Wade Robson and James Safechuck filed the suits in 2013 and 2014, respectively, claiming that the pop star sexually abused them when they were children. Their accounts were shared in the HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland." The lawsuits targeted MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., both owned solely by Jackson. In 2021, the cases were dismissed when a judge ruled that the corporations had no duty to protect Robson and Safechuck. However, the 2nd District Court of Appeal recently ruled that the cases should be retried.Attorneys representing the Jackson estate will try to convince the appeals court to dismiss the cases once again. This is not the first time the lawsuits have been revived; they were previously dropped in 2017 due to the statute of limitations but were restored by a temporary expansion of sexual abuse case scope by the California legislature. Robson, who met Jackson at the age of 5, alleges that the abuse occurred over a seven-year period. He argues that the corporations had a duty to protect him, similar to how organizations like the Boy Scouts or schools are expected to protect children. Safechuck, who met Jackson at 9 years old, claimed to have been subjected to a series of incidents of sexual abuse. The Jackson estate denies any abuse and points to Robson's own testimony in Jackson's 2005 criminal trial where he stated he had not been abused. Safechuck also made similar statements to authorities at the time.