Two men who claim to have suffered sexual abuse as children at the hands of Michael Jackson have been granted the opportunity to proceed with lawsuits against the late singer’s companies, following a decision by a US court.
Wade Robson and James Safechuck, both in their 40s, have accused Jackson of abusing them during their childhood years. They contend that the abuse took place over several years while they were minors.
Their lawsuits, previously hindered, can now advance against Jackson’s business entities. Robson and Safechuck argue that these companies bear a legal responsibility to safeguard them from harm.
Legal representatives for Michael Jackson, who passed away in 2009, maintain his innocence despite these allegations.
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The claims by Robson and Safechuck center on allegations of abuse occurring in the late 1980s and early 1990s during their stays at Jackson’s Neverland ranch. Their accusations were prominently featured in the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland,” a production Jackson’s family harshly criticized, branding it a “public lynching.”
In 2020, a judge in Los Angeles ruled against Safechuck, asserting that Jackson’s companies were not liable for any duty of care towards him. A year later, the same judge extended a similar ruling for Robson.
However, in a recent ruling, a California appeals court has overturned these decisions, holding that “a corporation that facilitates the sexual abuse of children by one of its employees is not excused from an affirmative duty to protect those children merely because it is solely owned by the perpetrator of the abuse.”
The court emphasized, “It would be perverse to find no duty based on the corporate defendant having only one shareholder,” and thereby reversed the prior judgments in favor of the corporations.
Vince Finaldi, legal counsel for Safechuck and Robson, lauded the court’s decision, stating that it rectified previous “incorrect rulings in these cases, which were against California law and would have set a dangerous precedent that endangered children.”
Jonathan Steinsapir, a lawyer representing Jackson’s estate, expressed confidence in Jackson’s innocence. He asserted that the allegations are “contrary to all credible evidence and independent corroboration.”
This development reopens discussions about the legacy of the pop icon, his legal battles, and the ongoing examination of his relationships with those who allege abuse.
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