Ever since Leaving Neverland dropped in 2019, the alleged victims have pursued lawsuits against Michael Jackson’s estate. Sexual abuse claims were made against the late pop superstar from the documentary’s subjects. Unfortunately, their pursuit against the estate hit a major snag, as one of the alleged victims had their court case thrown out for the second time.
According to TMZ, a California judge ruled against Wade Robson in his sexual abuse lawsuit against Michael Jackson’s estate, namely MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures. Judge Mark A. Young stated in his dismissal that both companies held no responsibility for Jackson’s conduct. After the judge’s decision was announced, Wade Robson’s side didn’t take the news lightly. Robson’s attorney Vince Finaldi revealed his client would be filing an appeal. Finaldi told the publication:
This decision of Judge Mark A. Young suffers from the same fatal flaws as the prior decision of prior Judge Mitchell Beckloff, which we were able to overturn on appeal.
As evident by his attorney’s words, Wade Robson is still up for fighting against the late pop music icon’s estate. Despite this development, the judge found no evidence to support Robson’s allegations. The fight between Michael Jackson’s estate and the dancer-choreographer has been going on for years.
As previously mentioned, this lawsuit was the second time Wade Robson had filed against the Michael Jackson estate. In 2013, the dancer-choreographer filed a similar suit for over $1 billion against the late entertainer, alleging sexual abuse from age seven to 14. That first case was dismissed as well, but Robson refiled in 2020 after California allowed alleged sexual abuse victims to file using years-old claims. Fellow Leaving Neverland subject James Safechuck’s case against the estate was dismissed in 2020.
While Wade Robson plans to move forward with his sexual abuse claims, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures came out strong against Robson after the judge’s decision. After the decision, the Michael Jackson estate's attorney Jonathan Steinsapir said to TMZ:
Wade Robson has spent the last 8 years pursuing frivolous claims in different lawsuits against Michael Jackson's estate and companies associated with it. Robson has taken nearly three dozen depositions and inspected and presented hundreds of thousands of documents trying to prove his claims, yet a Judge has once again ruled that Robson’s claims have no merit whatsoever, that no trial is necessary and that his latest case is dismissed.
Michael Jackson’s estate felt none of Wade Robson’s claims were true given his recent court loss. As the estate pointed out, the judge found Robson’s evidence insufficient in proving his case. That development harmed the dancer-choreographer’s case, as he appeals the judge’s decision.
Wade Robson’s second time filing a sexual abuse lawsuit stemmed from the 2019 HBO documentary. Robson and Safechuck’s claims in the controversial documentary led to Michael Jackson’s estate suing the cable network. The dancer-choreographer still pursued a lawsuit despite some discrepancies in his claims.
Both the documentary and countless lawsuits were an about-face for Wade Robson. Robson was originally a key witness for Michael Jackson’s defense during the 2003 sexual molestation trial. Given these latest developments, hopefully, the two sides will be able to come to some mutual agreement in the future.
