On Friday, a California court ruled that two men who claimed Michael Jackson abused them as children can proceed with their lawsuits against the late singer’s production company.
California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal found that James Safechuck and Wade Robson’s lawsuits against MJJ Productions should not have been dismissed. TMZ reported that a judge ruled in 2021 that the company had no responsibility to protect Safechuck and Robson because it had no power to control Jackson.
Friday’s ruling means the two lawsuits will be sent back to a lower trial court.
“Plaintiffs had every right to expect defendants to protect them from the entirely foreseeable danger of being left alone with Jackson,” the three justices wrote in their unanimous decision, according to Variety.
Robson alleged that Jackson molested him at Neverland Ranch between the ages of 7 and 14, while Safechuck said the singer began abusing him after meeting on the set of a Pepsi commercial when he was 10.
Robson and Safechuck’s allegations were featured in the 2019 HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland.” Jackson died in 2009, and his accusers initially filed their lawsuits in 2013 and 2014.
The first time, the lawsuits were dismissed due to the statute of limitations. However, they refiled their lawsuits after Governor Gavin Newsom passed a law that extended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse accusers.
The attorney for Jackson’s estate, Jonathan Steinsapir, expressed disappointment with Friday’s ruling in a statement to People. Meanwhile, a source told the news outlet that Jackson’s team will likely appeal and there is no settlement in the works.
“We remain fully confident that Michael is innocent of these allegations, which are contrary to all credible evidence and independent corroboration, and which were only first made years after Michael’s death,” Steinsapir said.
“We trust that the truth will ultimately prevail with Michael’s vindication yet again. Michael Jackson himself said, ‘Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons.'”
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[Featured image: Michael Jackson/AP Photo/Cliff Schiappa, File]
