Michael Jackson should be pleased wherever he is today. The first of two cases brought against him posthumously by men who said they were abused by the singer in their teens was dismissed.
The case of James Safechuck was dismissed on demurrer, meaning just through paperwork, on Tuesday.
Judge Mark Young wrote, explaining demurrers: When considering demurrers, courts “are required to construe the complaint liberally to determine whether a cause of action has been stated, given the assumed truth of the facts pleaded.”
You can read the Judge’s complete finding here. But he didn’t buy that Safechuck, as a child, worked for Michael Jackson or his companies, and that Jackson failed “to warn, train, or educate” him. Safechuck’s case, like that of his pal Wade Robson, was concocted to get money from the Jackson estate because Michael– who died suddenly– failed to leave them anything in a will.
The judge wrote that: “Plaintiff [Safechuck] alleged that Jackson was “hired” by Defendants to coach, teach, and mentor minors interested in the entertainment industry. Setting aside Plaintiff’s allegation that Jackson was the President of both Defendants, Plaintiff has failed to allege specific facts detailing what such mentorship looked like (or was supposed to look like) from 1988 through 1992.”
The case has been tossed and it’s not coming back. Howard Weitzman, Jackson’s estate lawyer, said in a statement to Showbiz411: “We are pleased that the court agreed that James Safechuck case should be dismissed because [they] had no grounds to pursue his lawsuit.”
Robson’s case will be decided next. Each of these men participated in the disastrous documentary “Leaving Neverland,” in which they described– without evidence or backing or a chance for the estate to refute–child molestation at the hands of Michael Jackson. This was a decade after they’d attended Jackson’s funeral, many years after Robson testified for Jackson in a child molestation trial. They each seemed motivated to find money at the expense of truth.
The documentary, shown on HBO, has been derided by Jackson fans who’ve meticulously pulled it apart and examined all the testimony of Safehuck and Robson. It’s like having a thousand Perry Masons working at once. Now the film’s director, not satisfied to have participated in one painful farce, is trying to make sequel. Since the Jackson estate is still suing HBO, it’s unlikely he’ll find a home again there anytime soon.
