Michael Jackson Accuser Wade Robson's Molestation Lawsuit Dismissed By Judge, Vows To Appeal
Apr. 27 2021, Updated 11:33 a.m. ET
Wade Robson has suffered another loss in his years-long pursuit of justice against Michael Jackson, who he claims molested him in the 1990s when he was a young boy.
On Monday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young threw out Robson's latest sexual abuse lawsuit against two of the late singer's corporations: MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures.
In the filing, Robson alleged that Jackson molested him over a seven-year period and felt the singer's companies had a legal duty to protect him in the same way organizations like the Boy Scouts or a school would be expected to protect children from abusive leaders. Robson, who's now a 38-year-old choreographer, met Jackson when he was 5 years old.
However, Young granted the musician's estate's request to toss Robson's lawsuit, which was filed in 2013. He stated that Robson could not prove that the companies had any control over Jackson's actions, or that they had an obligation to protect Robson from Jackson at the time.
"There is no evidence supporting plaintiff's contention that defendants exercised control over Jackson," the judge wrote. "The evidence further demonstrates that defendants had no legal ability to control Jackson, because Jackson had complete and total ownership of the corporate defendants."
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Similar thing happened to another one of Jackson's accusers, James Safechuck, whose own sexual abuse lawsuit against the King of Pop's estate was dismissed in October of last year. Both men publicized their allegations in the 2019 HBO documentary, Leaving Neverland. Safechuck vowed to appeal his 2020 ruling, as does Robson.
"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," said Robson's attorney, Vince Finaldi, arguing that, "if allowed to stand, the decision would set a dangerous precedent that would leave thousands of children working in the entertainment industry vulnerable to sexual abuse by persons in places of power."
The Jackson estate feels differently, as it has repeatedly and vehemently denied the singer's abuse of either of the boys. In fact, MJ's estate has since filed a lawsuit against HBO, which is now in private arbitration.
"Wade Robson has spent the last 8 years pursuing frivolous claims in different lawsuits against Michael Jackson's estate and companies associated with it," said Jackson estate attorney Jonathan Steinsapir after Monday's ruling. "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."
Another judge had previously dismissed Robson and Safechuck's respective lawsuits in 2017 because the statute of limitations had expired. However, in 2019, an appeals court reopened their cases after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law giving those who allege childhood sexual abuse more time to file their claims.