Sexual abuse lawsuits against Michael Jackson could be revived by California appeals court
26 July 2023, 12:08
Two previously dismissed lawsuits against Michael Jackson could be revived as a Californian appeals court
The cases involve two men who claim the pop star sexually abused them for years as children.
The suits were filed by Wade Robson and James Safechuck in 2013 and in 2014, respectively. Their claims were made public in the 2019 HBO documentary, "Leaving Neverland."
Both sued MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., of which the singer was the sole owner and lone shareholder.
The lawsuits were dismissed in 2021 when Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young ruled that the two corporations and their employees had no legal duty to protect Robson and Safechuck from Jackson.
Last month however, In a tentative decision California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled the cases should go back to trial.
Lawyers representing the Jackson estate will today bid to convince the appeals court to again dismiss the cases.
The lawsuits were already revived before they were dropped in 2021 as they bounced back from a 2017 dismissal, when Young threw the cases out for being beyond the statute of limitations.
Robson, who is now a 40-year-old choreographer, met Jackson when he was five-year-old and alleges in his lawsuit that Jackson sexually abused him over a seven-year period.
Robson later appeared in Jackson’s music videos and said he was Jackson’s employee, subsequently arguing the two corporations had a duty to protect him similar to how the scouts or a school would need to protect children.
Safechuck, now 45, said in his suit that he met Jackson at nine-years-old while filming a Pepsi advert. He claimed to have been the victim of a series of incidents of sexual abuse by Jackson, who he also said called him often and lavished him with gifts.
The Jackson estate has denied any abuse of either of the boys and has emphasized Robson’s own testimony at Jackson's 2005 criminal trial that he had not been abused. Safechuck said the same to authorities at the time.
Jackson died aged 50 in 2009.
