Camilla Jessen
Court hearing exposes deep divide in Jackson case.
Four siblings who now accuse Michael Jackson of abusing them as children appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom this week, hoping to reopen claims long thought closed.
But a judge signaled early on that a previous settlement may block their case before it reaches trial.
Court appearance
Frank, Aldo, Marie-Nicole and Dominic Cascio appeared in court on Jan. 14 for a hearing involving the late singer’s estate. Their brother Eddie did not attend.
According to Rolling Stone and other outlets, the judge indicated that a settlement reached in 2020 would likely prevent the siblings from suing Jackson’s estate in court.
The siblings traveled to Los Angeles with their parents in an effort to nullify that agreement, which their legal team says was improper.
Shift in allegations
For decades, the Cascio siblings publicly defended Jackson against accusations of child sexual abuse. Their position changed after the 2019 release of the documentary Leaving Neverland.
They now allege that Jackson groomed, manipulated and sexually abused them during time they spent with him as children.
Their claims emerged years after Jackson’s death in 2009 and after the estate had already resolved disputes with the family.
Disputed settlement
At the center of the hearing was a 2020 settlement agreement between the Cascio family and Jackson’s estate. The estate’s lawyer, Marty Singer, argued that the agreement requires any dispute to be handled through confidential arbitration.
Rolling Stone reported that Singer told the court the siblings accepted the deal and later sought more money. “The reason this case is going forward is because there was an extortion demand of $213 million last summer,” he said.
The Cascio siblings’ lawyer, Mark Geragos, has argued that the settlement was “unlawful” and unenforceable because it allegedly served to cover up abuse.
Clashing claims
In a tentative ruling ahead of the hearing, the judge said the court was prepared to compel arbitration. Geragos told the court he felt “passionately” that the ruling was “wrong on the law.”
After the hearing, Geragos said the family watched estate representatives “call them liars just five years after [the estate] paid the Cascio family in a secret deal because he believed they were truth tellers,” according to USA Today.
Another Cascio attorney, Howard King, claimed to possess hours of sworn video testimony describing “horrific abuse.” Singer denied those claims, calling them “a complete fabrication.”
A further hearing is scheduled for March 5.
Sources: Rolling Stone, USA Today, TMZ, PEOPLE
