After being featured in “Leaving Neverland,” a documentary that attempted to put a light on reoccurring allegations that the late Michael Jackson sexually abused two boys when they were kids, the two men now have been given the right to sue for sexual abuse, TMZ reports.
When James Safechuck and Wade Robson initially set out to sue, it didn’t turn out well for them as they waited too long.
California’s statute of limitations required them to have filed their lawsuits before they turned 26.
When they filed, Robson was 30, and Safechuck was 36.
However, in a new turn of events, a new law went into effect on Jan. 1 that would allow sexual abuse victims to sue until the age of 40.
According to TMZ, a California appeals court has ruled that the new law will indeed allow Robinson and Safechuck to have their cases tried — possibly before a jury.
While up until this point, Jackson’s companies have been able to ignore and fend off these claims because of the statute of limitations, things have changed.
With this new law in effect, Robson and Safechuck are eligible to go to trial against MJJ Productions as well as MJJ ventures.
The law also states that they could win if they prove the allegations and show that the people who ran the company either knew or should have known that the young boys at the time were in serious trouble.
When it comes to the MJ Estate, different factors play a part in the case, and both Safechuck and Robson are barred by the statute of limitations, TMZ reveals.
Though it’s being reported that Robson and Safechuck now have the right to sue again, Jackson’s Estate, however, claims otherwise and that the two men do not have the right to sue in a statement given to TMZ stating, “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.”
The Estate also says that the two men “absurdly claim that Michael’s employees are somehow responsible for sexual abuse that never happened.”
The Estate went on to note that the appeals court has not addressed the merits of the claims as that’s for a jury to decide only.
Both Safechuck and Robson are accusing Jackson of sexual abuse.
Safechuck alleges Jackson abused him hundreds of times when he was a child, including inappropriate acts such as penetrating him with his finger, and rubbing and sucking Jackson’s nipples while the singer self pleasured himself.
Robson, on the other hand, says the abuse consisted of fondling, kissing, giving and receiving oral sex and claims Jackson even attempted to engage in anal sex once.
However, management over at Jackson’s Estate have remained pretty confident that these claims are false since the beginning and that Robson and Safechuck are angry former Jackson fans who are barred by the statute of limitations.
Howard Weitzman, the lawyer for the Estate, revealed in the past, that he believes the claims will be dismissed.
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