Appeals court revives lawsuits brought by Michael Jackson’s accusers against late singer’s companies

An appeals court on Friday revived a pair of lawsuits brought on behalf of two men who allege they were sexually abused as children by late pop singer Michael Jackson.

The Second Appellate District in the California Court of Appeals allowed each of the previously dismissed lawsuits to proceed after a new state law took effect days earlier.

Jackson’s accusers, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, filed the lawsuits in 2013 and 2014, respectively, against two entities the singer owned, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures.

Both suits were originally dismissed in 2017 for failing to be filed within the appropriate statute of limitations, which required that the accusers take action before turning 26.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law last year extending the state’s statute of limitations for child sex-abuses cases, however, paving the way for both suits to be restored after it took effect January 1.

“We are pleased that the Court has recognized the strong protections California has put into place for sexual-abuse victims under the state’s new law extending the statute of limitations,” an attorney for the men, Vince Finaldi, said in a statement, The Los Angeles Times reported. “We look forward to sharing the facts of the terrible abuse of James Safechuck and Wade Robson with a jury.”

Howard Weitzman, an attorney for Jackson’s companies, said that the lawsuits “absurdly claim that Michael’s employees are somehow responsible for sexual abuse that never happened,” The Times reported.

“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,” Mr. Weitzman said in an email, according to the newspaper.

Jackson died in 2009 at the age of 50. Mr. Robson and Mr. Safechuck each discussed the allegations at length in a documentary released last year, “Leaving Neverland.”