Child sex abuse claims against Michael Jackson's estate ruled to be too late
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Version 0 of 1. An Australian choreographer who accused Michael Jackson of years of molestation cannot pursue his allegations against the singer’s estate because he waited too long to file the legal action, a judge has ruled. US superior court judge Mitchell Beckloff wrote in his ruling on Tuesday that Wade Robson’s claim was untimely and should be dismissed. Robson had previously denied the pop superstar molested him and testified in Jackson’s defence at the singer’s criminal trial in 2005. He also spoke favourably about Jackson after the singer’s death in 2009. In May 2013, however, he sued Jackson’s estate over the molestation allegations. Attorneys for Robson said Jackson molested him over a seven-year period. Attorneys for Jackson’s estate denied the allegations. Robson’s attorney Maryann Marzano said Beckloff’s ruling would be appealed against and the molestation claim would be pursued against Jackson’s business entities. Jackson estate attorney Howard Weitzman praised the ruling and noted Robson’s previous testimony about Jackson. “Mr Robson testified under oath in a courtroom that Michael never did anything improper with him,” Weitzman said. Marzano, however, wrote that her client was incapable of filing his legal action any sooner due to psychological damage. She also noted that Beckloff’s ruling did not make any determination about whether Robson’s allegations were factual. “We are confident that when all the facts are presented in civil court, there will be no doubt left about just what kind of sexual predator Jackson was,” Marzano said. Robson was five years old when he met Jackson and spent the night at Neverland Ranch more than 20 times, sleeping in the singer’s bedroom on most visits, he told jurors during the trial that ended with Jackson’s acquittal. Robson bristled at testimony by other witnesses that they had seen Jackson molest him. “I’m very mad about it,” Robson told jurors. “It’s not true and they put my name through the dirt. I’m really not happy about it.” Robson, an Australian-born choreographer, has appeared on the Fox series So You Think You Can Dance and worked with Britney Spears and other stars. Marzano argued at an April hearing that the seriousness of the claims being lodged against Jackson’s estate warranted a full evidentiary hearing. Jackson estate attorney Jonathan Steinsapir argued that the law did not allow liability for a person’s actions to transfer to their estate in perpetuity, and that Robson missed his opportunity to file a claim. Jackson died at 50 while preparing for a series of comeback concerts dubbed This Is It. His estate benefits his mother and three children. The pop singer was deeply in debt but posthumous growth in the popularity of his music has generated hundreds of millions of dollars. Robson filed one of the last major claims against Jackson’s estate, although disputes with a former business manager, another man alleging underage sexual abuse and the US tax authorities are unresolved. |