Michael Jackson companies owed no legal duty to Wade Robson over alleged childhood abuse, judge rules

The subject of 'Leaving Neverland' had revived an old lawsuit to sue the performer's estate

Michael Jackson pictured arriving at court for his child molestation trial in 2005, during which he was later acquitted. AP

Michael Jackson's estate triumphed in court on Monday as a judge ruled the performer's businesses cannot be sued by Wade Robson over alleged childhood sexual abuse.

Robson, who was one of the subjects of the high-profile 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, first filed the lawsuit in 2013, claiming the Thriller singer sexually abused him for nearly a decade, from when he was 7.

At first, the suit was dismissed because of the statute of limitations, but it was revived in 2020, after California amended its state law to extend the age, from 26 to 40, by which people must file childhood sexual assault claims.

This week, however, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark A Young upheld an earlier tentative ruling that dismissed Robson's lawsuit, finding defendants MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures had no legal duty or ability to control Jackson.

"There is no evidence supporting the plaintiff's contention that defendants exercised control over Jackson," Young wrote in his ruling. "The evidence further demonstrates that defendants had no legal ability to control Jackson, because Jackson had complete and total ownership of the corporate defendants.

"Without control, there is no special relationship or duty that exists between defendants and plaintiff."

In October, Young also dismissed a similar suit by James Safechuck, the other subject of the HBO documentary, citing the same grounds.

Safechuck's suit is now on appeal and Robson's lawyer, Vince Finaldi, has said he would also appeal the decision on his case.

“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,” Finaldi said, in a statement that is being widely circulated by media.

"The children of our state deserve protection, and we will not stop fighting until we ensure that every child is safe."

Michael Jackson's estate has been represented by Jonathan Steinsapir and Howard Weitzman, a well-known Hollywood power lawyer who died earlier this month aged 81 and also represented other celebrities such as Marlon Brando.

Steinsapir said: "Robson has spent the last eight 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."

Leaving Neverland left audiences stunned and shocked when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019. The harrowing, four-hour documentary, which was shown in two parts, features renewed sexual abuse claims against Jackson by Robson and Safechuck.

It also includes testimonies from family members, as well as old footage of Jackson.

Jackson's estate has repeatedly denied the accusations and has a separate lawsuit with HBO for producing and distributing the film. That case was sent to arbitration in December.