Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two youths who have accused Michael Jackson of sexual assault, have now received permission from the court to proceed with their lawsuits for trial in a lower court. Wade and James, who were featured in the explosive documentary Leaving Neverland, have accused the late singer of physically abusing them as children. A three-judge panel from the California Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the boys on Friday, dismissing Jackson’s cases. The 2nd District Court of Appeal overturned a Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s dismissal of the lawsuits.
“Plaintiffs had every right to expect defendants to protect them from the entirely foreseeable danger of being left alone with Jackson,” the justices wrote, per Variety. Safechuck and Robson have argued that the companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, which were solely owned by Jackson, have a legal duty to protect them.
Attorneys for Michael Jackson’s Estate voiced their dissatisfaction with the court’s ruling
Wade and James have knocked on the court’s doors for the second time since their discharge. The couple first filed the claim in 2013 and 2014, but it was dismissed due to the statute of limitations. They did, however, file a new lawsuit under the new law in 2020, but their cases were dismissed once more by lower court judges who agreed with Jackson’s companies and argued that the two companies had no legal duty to protect Robson and Safechuck or anyone else from Jackson because they had no ability to control him. Attorneys for Michael Jackson’s Estate voiced their dissatisfaction with the court’s ruling.
“We are disappointed with the Court’s decision. Two distinguished trial judges repeatedly dismissed these cases on numerous occasions over the last decade because the law required it. We remain fully confident that Michael is innocent of these allegations, which are contrary to all credible evidence and independent corroboration, and were only made years after Michael’s death. 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,” says Jonathan.
Robson, 46, claims that sexual assault began when he was seven years old and continued for several years until he was fourteen. Meanwhile, Safechuck stated that the sexual assault began in 1988, when he was 10 years old, in Paris.