Michael Jackson’s estate has been granted a motion to enter arbitration after Frank Cascio and his adult siblings, who spent time with the late singer, accused him of being a ‘‘serial child predator’’ and sued his estate for child sex trafficking.
A judge allowed the Jackson estate to compel arbitration, meaning the parties can wage their legal battle out of court, according to a ruling filed on March 4 in Los Angeles County Superior Court and obtained by USA Today on March 10.
The judge’s decision reportedly found that the estate had ‘‘a valid and binding arbitration provision’’ within its legal agreement with Cascio, who signed the paperwork in 2020.
The judge ruled that Jackson’s estate must file a proposed order by March 18, with any objections due by April 1.
In a complaint filed on Feb. 27, obtained and viewed by Global News, the siblings alleged that representatives of Jackson’s estate had them sign an agreement, which prevented them from ‘‘talking about the years of abuse they endured.’’
The family says that in 2019, the Jackson estate offered to send ‘‘five annual payments of approximately $690,000,’’ minus a six per cent commission for a man who presented himself as a representative for the estate, in exchange for signing an ‘‘acquisition and consulting agreement.’’
The negotiations allegedly happened after the release of the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, a two-part series that details James Safechuck and Wade Robson’s allegations that the pop star sexually abused them as children.
Cascio claimed that he faced ‘‘immense pressure’’ to sign a settlement agreement with Jackson’s estate from his own family but was able to ‘‘negotiate a larger payment,’’ People reports.
In a statement shared with People, lawyer Marty Singer, who represents the Jackson estate, said the court ‘‘rejected’’ Frank and his four siblings’ argument that ‘‘the agreement was unconscionable.’’
‘‘For decades, Frank Cascio and his siblings consistently and repeatedly insisted that Michael Jackson never harmed them or anyone else. That includes their statements lauding Michael in a nationally televised interview with Oprah Winfrey which directly contradicts what they are claiming now,’’ Singer said in a statement.
‘‘The MJC Parties filed their pending Arbitration for Civil Extortion and related claims against Frank after the Cascios, through multiple attorneys, threatened that unless they were paid $213 million, they would go public with accusations against Michael that were completely contrary to their profuse prior statements defending him,’’ Singer added.
In a July 9 petition, the Michael Jackson Company and its officers accused Cascio of attempting to conduct a ‘‘$213 million civil extortion scheme.’’
The petition alleged that he and his family ‘‘demanded substantial amounts of money, otherwise they threatened to concoct false allegations against Michael which were the opposite of their prior glowing statements.’’
In a statement, Cascio’s lawyer, Howard King, said that ‘‘the only matter moving to arbitration is the Estate’s groundless claims against Frank Cascio that he attempted to extort the Estate.’’
‘‘Given that Frank was already participating in an arbitration, the decision was not noteworthy. The decision does not affect the Federal Court action brought against the Jackson companies by the other 4 Cascio children,’’ he added.
In the complaint filed in late February, Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo Cascio alleged that Jackson, who died in 2009 at the age of 50, ‘‘drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted’’ them ‘‘beginning when some of them were as young as seven or eight.’’
The siblings claim that the alleged abuse took place over the course of ‘‘more than a decade’’ and that it ‘‘went on for extended periods, including in locations around the world and when Jackson and his children were guests in Plaintiffs’ family home.’’
Jackson ‘‘groomed and brainwashed the four siblings, without the knowledge of the others or their parents, throughout their childhood years,’’ according to the legal documents.
‘‘Jackson used methods typical of child predators, but his wealth and fame, and the apparatus of professional advisors and employees who aided and abetted, and actively concealed, the abuse, gave him far more power over his many victims than other child predators,’’ the lawsuit says.
The suit says that Jackson ‘‘raped and molested’’ one of the siblings at Elizabeth Taylor’s house in Switzerland and at Elton John’s home in the United Kingdom, as well as at Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in California.
After the complaint was filed, Singer called the lawsuit ‘‘a desperate money grab by additional members of the Cascio family who have hopped on the bandwagon with their brother Frank, who is already being sued in arbitration for civil extortion.’’
‘‘The family staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, attesting to his innocence of inappropriate conduct. This new court filing is a transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and companies,’’ Singer continued.
Singer mentioned that Frank Cascio’s 2011 book, My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man, included ‘‘dozens of passages’’ that ‘‘directly contradict what is being alleged now.’’
‘‘Throughout, the Cascios consistently and repeatedly asserted that Michael never harmed any of them or anyone else,’’ Singer said.
He said the Cascio family is seeking a ‘‘multi-million-dollar payday’’ as they ‘‘threatened to go public with heinous accusations that completely contradicted their previous statements defending Michael unless his Estate paid staggering sums of money.’’
Source: Global News
--Agencies
