Michael Jackson accusers win OK to take their abuse allegations to civil trial

Two men who accused the late Michael Jackson of sexual abuse when they were children have won their appeal in California to take his companies to a civil trial where they hope to prove their allegations to a jury.

That sets up a potential legal struggle in civil court in Los Angeles in which lawyers for the accusers will have to prove longstanding but unproven allegations that Jackson was a pedophile, while lawyers for Jackson's estate will defend his estate and his companies from having to pay millions in damages to his accusers.

"We look forward to sharing the facts of the terrible abuse of James Safechuck and Wade Robson with a jury,” promised their lead attorney, Vince Finaldi, in an interview with USA TODAY.

"The Court of Appeal specifically did not address the truth of these false allegations, and we are confident that both lawsuits will be dismissed and that Michael Jackson will be vindicated once again," said Howard Weitzman, attorney for the Jackson estate, in a statement emailed to USA TODAY.

The appeals court ruling issued Friday involved separate lawsuits filed by Robson, 37, and Safechuck, 41, who were featured in the controversial film, "Leaving Neverland," detailing their graphic allegations of sexual abuse by Jackson when they lived and traveled with him as children. Jackson died in 2009.

The ruling reversed lower court rulings which concluded the two men waited too long to sue MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures under then-existing state law. Both were adults when they filed their lawsuits in 2013 and 2014, years after they alleged Jackson abused them.

"The truth of those allegations is not at issue here," the ruling said. "Instead, we must decide whether the plaintiffs waited too long to sue, not Jackson himself, but two of Jackson's corporations."

The statute of limitations covering civil suits over child sexual abuse was recently changed in California, allowing people with such claims to sue up to the age of 40 (instead of 26). The appeals court concluded that their claims against Jackson's companies were still viable, reversing the earlier ruling and sending the two lawsuits back to a trial court.

"Plaintiffs filed their lawsuits before their 40th birthdays and their cases remain pending on appeal, so they have not reached finality," the ruling said. "The extended limitations period therefore applies to render their claims timely."

Finaldi said he and his clients are pleased by the ruling and by the changes made by California lawmakers in the wake of the #MeToo movement. Also changed: Increased public awareness about "the way abuse happens" and why child victims may wait to come forward, he said.

Now, he said, his clients will have to prove that Jackson's companies knew or should have known that he was abusing children, or failed to do anything to prevent it. Before, he said, plaintiffs had to prove both.

"If they do nothing more than getting their story out there and maybe preventing another kid being abused, that’s enough," Finaldi said of his clients.

Weitzman, Jackson's family members and administrators of his estate, which owns Jackson's companies, have vociferously denied the allegations against him by Robson and Safechuck, whom they have repeatedly labeled liars. The estate also sued HBO for airing "Leaving Neverland."

"The Court of Appeal’s ruling merely revived lawsuits against Michael Jackson’s companies, which absurdly claim that Michael’s employees are somehow responsible for sexual abuse that never happened," Weitzman said in his statement.

"The time is coming for the Jackson estate and its lawyers to face the music about all these lies and misrepresentations they've been making about Wade and James," Finaldi said. "We welcome that day."

Finaldi said it's not yet clear when a trial or trials would be set.

Allegations against Jackson began surfacing publicly in the 1990s, and Jackson himself was prosecuted in Santa Barbara County for molesting a minor and was acquitted in 2005. As a result, Finaldi says proving Jackson's companies and employees knew or should have known about allegations against Jackson will be easier.

Robson and Safechuck also sued the Jackson estate in probate court, but those kinds of claims must be made within a short period of time and both men missed that deadline. As a result, those probate claims against the estate were dismissed with finality; the appeals court ruling does not affect them.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michael Jackson accusers win OK take abuse allegations civil trial