A California appeals court is expected to consider resurrecting the rejected claims of two men who believe Michael Jackson sexually molested them as kids for years. This is possible after the court made a preliminary judgment that would bring the cases back to a lower court for trial.
After Jackson's death in 2009, Wade Robson and James Safechuck filed their respective lawsuits in 2013 and 2014. After sharing their experiences in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, the two men gained additional notoriety.
Jackson was the only shareholder and owner of the two businesses, MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., which were both sued.
Case History of Dismissals in 2021
Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young dismissed the lawsuits against the companies and their workers in 2021, finding that they had no obligation to safeguard Robson and Safechuck from Jackson. However, the 2nd District Court of Appeal in California overruled the judge's verdict last month and sent the cases back to trial.
On Wednesday, July 26, attorneys representing Jackson's estate will attempt to persuade the appeals court to reconsider its decision.
Even though Young already dismissed the cases in 2017 for being time-barred, they have since made a comeback. The appeals court reinstated sexual abuse lawsuits because a new California legislation temporarily expanded their reach. The estate Jackson left behind following his death was dismissed as a defendant in 2015.
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Statements From Robson and Safechuck
Robson, a choreographer now in his 40s, first met the King of Pop when the latter was only five. He later recorded for Jackson's label and appeared in music videos.
According to AP News, his complaint against Jackson said that the singer abused him over the course of seven years. The lawsuit argues he worked for Jackson and that the two companies had a responsibility to protect him, just as the Boy Scouts or a school would have a responsibility to protect its students from its leaders.
In his lawsuit, 45-year-old Safechuck claimed that he first met Jackson when he was 9, and they were both working on a Pepsi commercial. He said that Jackson phoned him often and showered him with gifts before engaging in a pattern of sexual assault.
The Jackson estate has disputed over and over again that the late singer molested any of the boys, pointing out that Robson testified at Jackson's 2005 criminal trial that he had not been abused and that Safechuck told authorities the same thing.
