*A federal judge has ordered four Cascio siblings into private arbitration. They must pursue their child sex-trafficking claims against Michael Jackson’s estate outside a public trial.
U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera issued the ruling. He found that a 2019 settlement the siblings signed with the estate contains an enforceable arbitration provision, Rolling Stone reports. The siblings argued that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 should allow a jury trial. Vera rejected that claim. He wrote that the law cannot apply retroactively: “Because the arbitration provision was executed before the effective date of the statute, and after the commencement of the parties’ dispute, the EFAA does not apply.”
Frank Cascio, Dominic Cascio, Marie-Nicole Cascio and Aldo Cascio filed the federal lawsuit in Los Angeles in February. They accuse Jackson of using his celebrity, wealth and inner circle to gain their trust. They claim he then isolated them from protective adults, and exposed them to drugs, alcohol and pornography. The abuse, they say, began when some were as young as seven or eight.
The family’s attorney, Howard King, said the siblings wanted the claims examined in open court. “It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that the decision on whether the Cascios were duped into signing an unconscionable agreement with an arbitration clause will be made by an arbitrator rather than a jury of peers,” King said.
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The siblings had earlier challenged the 2019 settlement itself. They called it “an unlawful agreement to silence victims of childhood sexual abuse.” That dispute also went to arbitration.
The Cascios once described themselves as Jackson’s “second family” and publicly defended him. They now say watching the documentary “Leaving Neverland” after his death forced them to reexamine their experiences. They claim the film “deprogrammed” them.
The Jackson estate denies their allegations. Estate attorney Martin Singer has called the lawsuit a “desperate money grab” for hundreds of millions of dollars.
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