Two individuals who have accused Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them during their childhood are pursuing a significant monetary settlement.
Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who were prominently featured in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, initially filed lawsuits against Jackson’s companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, in 2013 and 2014. These cases were dismissed at the time.
The dismissal occurred because a judge determined that the companies were not responsible for ensuring their protection. However, in a surprising development, a court decided to reopen the cases in 2023.
The California Court of Appeals ruled that “a corporation that facilitates the sexual abuse of children by one of its employees is not excused from an affirmative duty to protect those children merely because it is solely owned by the perpetrator of the abuse.”
Until now, the exact amount that Robson and Safechuck were demanding in damages had been a mystery, but recently surfaced court documents indicate their demand is a staggering nine-figure sum.
John Branca and John McClain, who manage Jackson’s estate, disclosed this information in legal documents pertaining to the singer’s daughter, Paris Jackson, who has accused the two of misappropriating funds from her father’s estate.
Paris, a beneficiary of Jackson’s estate alongside her siblings and grandmother, voiced her concerns earlier about certain ‘premium payments’ made by the estate.
The Independent reported that Paris questioned the approval of $625,000 in payments to three law firms over a six-month period in 2018.
In court documents filed on September 15, Branca and McClain justified the significant expenditures on legal firms for the estate, which included defending against the lawsuits by Robson and Safechuck.
According to US Weekly, they claimed that if Paris was successful in stopping these payments, “the Estate would likely have to default in [Robson and Safechuck’s lawsuit], where numerous depositions, discovery matters, and other matters are scheduled to take place over the next several months, and where [Robson and Safechuck] are seeking $400 million.”
They emphasized, “It would be disastrous for the Estate to default in this case.”
McClain and Branca also noted that the legal team’s efforts have transformed the estate from being burdened with nearly half a billion dollars in debt to becoming a multi-billion dollar entity.