A judge has dismissed the lawsuit of one of two men who alleged that Michael Jackson abused them as boys in the HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland."
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mark A. Young on Tuesday found that James Safechuck, 42, could not sue the two corporations Jackson owned that are named as defendants in the lawsuit, MJJ Productions Inc., and MJJ Ventures Inc.
Young said Safechuck's lawsuit had not demonstrated that he had a relationship with the corporations that would have required them to protect him from Jackson.
"We are pleased that the court dismissed Mr. Safechuck’s case by ruling that he had no grounds to pursue such a lawsuit," Jackson estate attorneys Howard Weitzman and Jonathan Steinsapir said in a statement.
An email seeking comment from Safechuck's attorney was not immediately returned.
It's the second time Safechuck's case, filed in 2013, has been thrown out. A judge dismissed it in 2017, but an appeals court revived it early this year after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law giving those who allege childhood sexual abuse longer to file lawsuits.
The similar lawsuit of Safechuck's fellow accuser and "Leaving Neverland" subject Wade Robson, which was also revived by the appeals court, remains alive.
The Jackson estate has adamantly and repeatedly denied that he abused either of the boys, and it is suing HBO over "Leaving Neverland."
Safechuck's lawsuit alleges he was abused hundreds of times by Jackson in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It also says that "the thinly-veiled, covert second purpose of (Jackson's) businesses was to operate as a child sexual abuse operation, specifically designed to locate, attract, lure and seduce child sexual abuse victims."
Safechuck’s lawyer, Vince Finaldi, told USA Today that they would be appealing the decision.
"We believe it ignores well-established California law and would set a dangerous precedent that leaves children unprotected," Finaldi said. "The notion that these companies owed no duty to protect Mr. Safechuck — who was a young boy working for them at the time — from a known pedophile, attempts to turn decades of child sexual abuse rulings and statutes on their head.”
Deadline reported that "Neverland" director Dan Reed is facing legal issues as he is attempting to shoot a sequel to the documentary in Los Angeles Superior Court as Robson's and Safechuck's lawsuits work their way through the courts.
Weitzman and Steinsapir, however, told USA Today that "there is no lawsuit around him. Time will tell if Reed makes a follow-up film. One of those cases was dismissed today."
Newsmax staff contributed to this report.
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