A California appeals court has ruled to revive the lawsuits brought by Wade Robson and James Safechuck against Michael Jackson, accusing him of sexual abuse when they were children.
More than 14 years after his death, Michael Jackson continues to face accusations of sexual abuse of minors. Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two Americans now in their forties, claim that the singer abused them for several years when they were children.
The attorneys for the deceased star, who passed away in 2009, have consistently maintained his innocence. They had previously relied on several court decisions: multiple times, courts had ruled that the artist’s companies could not be subject to lawsuits, as they were not required to exercise due diligence over his activities.
Future trials are possible English-language media outlets are now reporting that the situation has changed. The plaintiffs, who continue their legal battle, have prevailed as a California appeals court ruled on Friday that a company “that facilitates the sexual abuse of children by one of its employees is not exempt from a positive duty to protect these children simply because it is owned solely by the wrongdoer.”
Lawsuits that had been previously dismissed are now eligible to proceed. Wade Robson and James Safechuck argue that Michael Jackson’s companies had a responsibility to protect them.
An attorney for the plaintiffs, satisfied with this decision, noted that the court had overturned previous “incorrect decisions made in these cases,” decisions that were “contrary to California law and would have set a dangerous precedent, putting children at risk.”
The perspective is quite different from the attorneys representing the artist’s estate. Its representative, Jonathan Steinsapir, expressed being “fully confident” that Michael Jackson was innocent, asserting that the allegations were “contrary to all credible evidence.”
