A lawsuit filed by Wade Robson against Michael Jackson‘s estate has been thrown out by a judge in Los Angeles.
Choreographer Robson sued Jackson’s estate in 2013, alleging that the pop icon had sexually abused him for almost 10 years, with the singer’s MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures playing a role in facilitating the abuse.
The lawsuit has now been dismissed by LA County Superior Court Judge Mark A Young, who upheld an earlier tentative ruling and agreed with the estate that it had no legal duty to protect Robson from the alleged abuse.
“There is no evidence supporting Plaintiff’s contention that Defendants exercised control over Jackson,” wrote Judge Young.
“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 addition, there is no evidence of misfeasance by Defendant.”
Robson’s suit was initially dismissed in December 2017, with a judge ruling that it was filed outside the statute of limitations. It was subsequently revived earlier this year, after the state of California introduced a law that allowed people to file sexual assault claims against third parties until the age of 40. Previous legislation had limited such claims to the age of 26.
Jonathan Steinsapir, the attorney for the Jackson estate, said: “As of today, a summary judgment against Wade Robson has been granted three different times by two different judges of the Superior Court.
“Wade 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.”
Robson’s attorney has since announced that he plans to appeal the decision.
Robson’s allegations of abuse against Jackson were detailed in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, which saw him and James Safechuck alleging that they were abused when left alone with the singer at his California home.
Jackson’s estate has denied all allegations of abuse.
The post Wade Robson’s lawsuit against Michael Jackson estate thrown out of court appeared first on NME.
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