Michael Jackson's sexual abuse lawsuits can be resumed by his alleged victims, a California appeals court confirmed.
HBO's two-part documentary, "Leaving Neverland," featured the statements from Jackson's alleged victims who claimed the late singer sexually abused them when they were children. Now grown-ups, the victims filed lawsuits that were dismissed repeatedly in the past, though the court recently reopened the case.
Michael Jackson's Sexual Abuse Lawsuits Revisited
California's Second District Court of Appeal ruled on Friday that two men who claimed they were abused by Jackson could resume their lawsuits.
Per the ruling (via Rolling Stone), a corporation's duty is to protect children because it is owned by the perpetrators. The alleged victims, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, named MJJ Productions Inc., and MJJ Ventures Inc. as defendants in the 2013 and 2014 filings, claiming that the companies failed to conduct their legal duty to protect them from Jackson's abuse.
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The victims alleged that the late singer, who died in 2009, groomed and abused them for years.
According to the court, it reversed the judgments as "it would be perverse to find no duty based on the corporate defendant having only one shareholder."
Director Dan Reed dropped the documentary "Leaving Neverland" in 2009, saying he declined creating the proposed Michael Jackson biopic as it would glorify a man who abused children. Thus, he decided to work on the documentary and share the explosive claims instead.
Robson spoke up about their experience during the premiere screening of the show, saying they can no longer change what happened to them and that "what happened, happened" already. The two victims stayed at his California ranch and went with him on tours when they were still children.
Michael Jackson's Rep Surprised by the Ruling
In a statement to The Associated Press, Jackson's estate lawyer Jonathan Steinsapir said they were disappointed after learning about the decision. He noted that two trial judges already dismissed the cases repeatedly.
"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 by men motivated solely by money," he continued.
Meanwhile, Robson and Safechuck's legal representative, Vince Finaldi, said the court overturned the incorrect rulings in the cases.
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