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Michael Jackson 2013 Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Revived By Appeals Court

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(LOS ANGELES) – On Friday, a California appeals court reopened claims filed by two men who claim Michael Jackson sexually molested them as minors for years.

A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal determined that a lower court should not have dismissed Wade Robson and James Safechuck’s lawsuits and that the men can legitimately claim that the two Jackson-owned corporations named defendants owed them protection. The appeals court restored them thanks to a new California statute that temporarily enlarged the scope of sexual assault prosecutions.

It’s the second time the lawsuits, filed by Robson in 2013 and Safechuck the following year, have been re-filed after being dismissed. The two men gained fame after recounting their stories in the 2019 HBO documentary ” Leaving Neverland.”

In 2021, a court rejected the lawsuits, ruling that the corporations, MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., could not be expected to function like the Boy Scouts or a church, where a child in their care may expect safety. Jackson, who died in 2009, was the companies’ sole owner and shareholder.

The higher court judges disagreed, noting that “a corporation that facilitates sexual abuse of children by one of its employees is not excused from an affirmative duty to protect those children merely because it is owned solely by the perpetrator of the abuse.”

jackson

California appeals court reopened claims filed by two men who claim Michael Jackson sexually molested them as minors for years.

“It would be perverse to find no duty based on the corporate defendant having only one shareholder,” they continued. As a result, we overturn the corporate judgments.”

The Jackson estate’s attorney, Jonathan Steinsapir, said they were “disappointed.”

“Two distinguished trial judges repeatedly dismissed these cases on numerous occasions over the last decade because the law required it,” Steinsapir explained in an email to The Associated Press. “We remain completely confident that Michael is innocent of these allegations, which contradict all credible evidence and independent corroboration and were only made years after Michael’s death by men motivated solely by money.”

In an email, Robson and Safechuck’s attorney, Vince Finaldi, stated that they were “pleased but not surprised” that the court overturned the previous judge’s “incorrect rulings in these cases, which were against California law and would have set a dangerous precedent that endangered children throughout the state and country.” We are looking forward to a merits trial.”

Steinsapir argued in July for the defense that it makes no sense for employees to be legally compelled to stop their boss’s behavior.

“It would require low-level employees to confront their supervisors and call them paedophiles,” Steinsapir explained.

jackson

California appeals court reopened claims filed by two men who claim Michael Jackson sexually molested them as minors for years.

Another attorney for Robson and Safechuck, Holly Boyer, argued that the boys were “left alone in this lion’s den by the defendant’s employees.” It is legitimate to assert an affirmative duty to protect and warn.”

According to Steinsapir, evidence acquired in the untried instances demonstrated that the parents had no expectation of Jackson’s staff acting as monitors.

“They were not looking to Michael Jackson’s companies for protection from Michael Jackson,” stated the lawyer.

However, one of the panelists, Associate Justice John Shepard Wiley Jr., stated in a concurring opinion announced with Friday’s ruling that “to treat Jackson’s wholly-owned instruments as distinct from Jackson himself is to be mesmerized by abstractions.” This is not an alter ego situation. This is a case of the same ego.”

The judges did not rule on the veracity of the claims. This will be the subject of a jury trial in Los Angeles soon.

“We trust that the truth will ultimately prevail with Michael’s vindication yet again,” Steinsapir said on Friday.

jackson

California appeals court reopened claims filed by two men who claim Michael Jackson sexually molested them as minors for years.

Robson, now 40 years old, met Jackson when he was five years old. He later appeared in three Michael Jackson music videos.

Jackson allegedly assaulted him for seven years, according to his lawsuit.

Safechuck, now 45, claimed that he encountered Jackson while filming a Pepsi commercial when he was 9 years old. He claimed Jackson frequently phoned and lavished him with presents before sexually abusing him.

The Associated Press does not usually identify persons who claim to have been victims of sexual abuse. However, Robson and Safechuck have come forward and agreed to use their names.

The men’s lawsuits had already recovered from a 2017 dismissal by Young, who threw them out for exceeding the statute of limitations. In 2015, Jackson’s estate — the assets he left behind after his death — was dismissed as a defendant

SOURCE – (AP)

Kiara Grace is a staff writer at VORNews, a reputable online publication. Her writing focuses on technology trends, particularly in the realm of consumer electronics and software. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for breaking down complex topics.

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