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Michael Jackson got a win from the grave after a federal judge sided with his estate in blocking a public courtroom battle over abuse allegations brought by the Cascio siblings.
The ruling, handed down on August 12, forces the case into confidential arbitration rather than allowing it to proceed in open court, according to Billboard.
Judge Hernán D Vera made the decision based on a binding arbitration clause embedded in a 2019 settlement agreement between the Jackson estate and the Cascio family.
The judge’s language was direct and unambiguous. “Although the allegations are horrific, the court is without discretion to do aught but enforce the language of the arbitration clause,” Vera wrote in the ruling.
The estate’s legal team argued that the settlement terms were ironclad, and the court agreed.
Four siblings, Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole, and Aldo Cascio, filed their lawsuit in February, claiming Jackson sexually abused them over more than a decade.
They grew up around the pop icon and once referred to themselves as his “second family.” The allegations represent a dramatic reversal from their previous public stance.
For years, they defended Jackson against other abuse accusations and even appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s show to support him.
The turning point came after HBO released the documentary “Leaving Neverland” in 2019.
The Cascios claimed the film “deprogrammed” them, prompting them to reconsider their relationship with Jackson. That same year, they reached a $3.5 million settlement with the estate without the estate admitting any wrongdoing.
Now they’re arguing that settlement was coerced and should be voided.
The estate’s attorney, Marty Singer, characterized the lawsuit as a “desperate money grab” and noted that the Cascios had negotiated for a larger payment in the original settlement, which undermined their claim that they were pressured into signing.
Singer also noted that the family’s previous statements, including in a 2011 book by Frank Cascio, directly contradicted what they’re alleging now.
The Cascios alleged in their complaint that Jackson “groomed and brainwashed” them using his celebrity status and wealth, claiming he was a “serial child predator” who drugged and sexually assaulted each of them.
The estate denies all allegations.
