Michael Jackson's Finding Neverland accusers CAN sue singer's label
Michael Jackson’s Finding Neverland accusers could win HUGE payout after California passes law loosening statute of limitations and appeals court finds they CAN sue singer’s label
- Wade Robson and James Safechuck say Michael Jackson abused them at his Neverland Ranch when they were children
- Both filed lawsuits against two of Jackson’s businesses, which were dismissed in 2017 because they had been filed outside the statue of limitations
- However, a new law passed in California on January 1 2020 now allows victims of childhood sexual abuse until the age of 40 to file civil lawsuits
- On Friday, a court of appeals declared that Robson and Safechuck will now be proceed in their suits against MJJ Productions, Inc. and MJJ Ventures, Inc.
Two men who accused Michael Jackson of abusing them at his Neverland ranch when they were children will be able to sue the late singer’s label and businesses after the state of California loosened their statue of limitations.
Wade Robson and James Safechuck – who both appeared in the harrowing HBO documentary Finding Neverland detailing their alleged accounts of abuse – first filed lawsuits against MJJ Productions, Inc. and MJJ Ventures, Inc. back in 2014.
However, the suits were thrown out by a judge in 2017, as they were filed outside the statute of limitations. At that time, victims had until the age of 26 to launch legal proceedings, and both Robson and Safechuck were in their 30s.
However, under a new law which came into effect on January 1, 2020, victims of childhood sexual abuse now have until the age of 40 to file civil lawsuits.
In light of such claims, an appeals court on Friday overturned the 2017 ruling, effectively meaning that both Robson and Safechuck can now have their cases tried.
TMZ reports that they cases will likely be heard by a jury and that the men ‘could win if they prove the allegations and show the people who ran the companies knew or should have known they were in peril’.
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Wade Robson (left) and James Safechuck (right) will now be able to proceed in a lawsuit against two of Michael Jackson’s labels. They are pictured with the director of HBO’s Finding Neverland, Dan Reed (center)
However, the pair won’t be able to sue the singer’s personal estate, which is subject to different laws.
On Friday, Jackson’s Estate told TMZ: ‘The Court of Appeal did NOT revive the lawsuits by Mr. Robson and Mr. Safechuck against the Estate of Michael Jackson. Both of those lawsuits were dismissed in 2016″
Last year’s Leaving Neverland documentary saw the two former child actors accuse the late singer of repeatedly raping them at his Californian home in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Robson and Safechuck’s molestation accusations aired in the HBO documentary in January, leading to a huge backlash against the singer.
The response to the documentary saw radio stations in New Zealand and Canada pulling Jackson songs from the airwaves.
The family of Jackson, who died from a drug overdose at the age of 50 in 2009, denied the claims and denounced the film, comparing it to a ‘public lynching’.
Jackson’s loyal supporters launched campaigns to discredit the two men with posters on London buses and street demonstrations over the documentary.
Michael Jackson and Wade Robson in an undated photograph. The Australia-born boy was five when he first met Jackson after winning a dance competition in his home town of Brisbane
James Safechuck and Michael Jackson 1988 when he was aged holding hands with the King of Pop as he accompanied him on tour
Robson, now 36, and Safechuck, now 40, both gave graphic details of what allegedly happened when they were alone with the pop star.
Safechuck, who met Jackson in 1986 on the set of a Pepsi advert, alleges he was abused for a number of years and was showered with gifts while the singer groomed both him and his family.
Australian Robson was five when he first met Jackson after winning a dance competition in his home town of Brisbane, and alleges he was abused while staying at the singer’s 2,700-acre Neverland ranch in Santa Barabra County, California.
Robson has faced questions about why he is now alleging abuse after appearing as a defense witness for Jackson in his 2005 court cause for child abuse.
Jackson shaking hands with a young James Safechuck. This undated image was shown in the Leaving Neverland HBO documentary
Michael Jackson Wade Robson in an undated image. Robson caught the King of Pop’s eye when he won a dance contest impersonating the late star at the age of five
He said he was motivated to lie in 2005 because he was ‘in love with Michael’ and he wanted to do everything he could to save the man that he saw as his father figure.
Jackson’s estate also filed a $100 million lawsuit against HBO, accusing the broadcaster of breaching a contract that was signed by Jackson in 1992 when his Dangerous World Tour aired on the premium cable channel.
The contract allegedly had a non-disparagement clause that was breached with the film aired, according to court documents.
Since its broadcast campaigns pleading Jackson’s innocence sprung up on both sides of the Atlantic.
Michael Jackson was accused of sexual abuse in the 1990s by two men in a documentary made after he died in 2009
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