Siblings Accusing Michael Jackson of Abuse Appear in Court as Judge Says They Likely Can’t Sue Due to Past Settlement

A group of siblings who now allege Michael Jackson abused them as children appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday, Jan. 14, where a judge indicated an earlier settlement could prevent them from suing Jackson’s estate, according to multiple outlets.

Frank, Aldo, Marie-Nicole, Dominic and Eddie Cascio spent years publicly defending Jackson against child-abuse allegations. After the 2019 Leaving Neverland docuseries, they began alleging they were groomed, manipulated and molested by Jackson during time they spent with him as children.

The siblings — excluding Eddie — came to Los Angeles with their parents for the Jan. 14 hearing, per the outlets, seeking to void a 2020 settlement that their attorney, Mark Geragos, argued was “unlawful” in court filings submitted days earlier.

At the hearing, Rolling Stone reported, the judge declined to immediately rule on a request from estate attorney Marty Singer that the Cascios be forced into confidential arbitration, as the 2020 agreement requires.

Singer told the court the siblings first agreed to a settlement in 2020 and later renegotiated for additional money, according to Rolling Stone. He said filing a public lawsuit would violate the earlier agreement.

“We categorically dispute these claims [of abuse by Jackson],” Singer said, per Rolling Stone. “The reason this case is going forward is because there was an extortion demand of $213 million last summer.”

Geragos has argued the family felt coerced into signing the agreement and has said it should not be enforced. In October, according to court documents cited by outlets, he also claimed the settlement was “unenforceable” because it was intended to conceal abuse.

In a tentative ruling issued before the Jan. 14 hearing, Rolling Stone reported, the judge said the court was prepared to compel arbitration. Geragos said in court he felt “passionately” that the tentative ruling was “wrong on the law.”

After the hearing — during which Rolling Stone and TMZ reported one sibling appeared to be crying — Geragos said in a statement to USA Today: “The family traveled to court to see for themselves Mr. Singer and Mr. Branca on behalf of the estate call them liars just five years after Mr. Branca paid the Cascio family in a secret deal because he believed they were truth tellers.”

Attorney Howard King, who also represents the siblings, told TMZ he has 10 hours of video footage containing sworn testimony from the siblings describing what he called “horrific abuse,” and claimed Singer has seen portions of it.

Singer, in a statement to USA Today, called King’s account false. “I never made any of the statements that he claims were made,” Singer said. “My co-counsel Jonathan Steinsapir, who was with me confirms that the statement made by Mr. King is a complete fabrication,” Singer continued, adding that King was attempting to distract from what Singer described as a $213 million extortion demand that is part of an extortion claim the estate says is pending against Frank Cascio and was reported to authorities.

Another hearing is scheduled for March 5.