Michael Jackson's estate has scored a major legal victory - but the disturbing allegations surrounding the late King of Pop are far from disappearing.
A federal judge has tossed four siblings' explosive child sex trafficking lawsuit out of public court, ruling that Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo Cascio must instead pursue their claims through confidential arbitration.
The Cascio siblings once considered themselves part of Jackson's "second family" and were among his most outspoken defenders. Now, in a stunning reversal, they allege the superstar sexually abused them as children over a period spanning more than a decade.
Judge Hernán D. Vera made clear that Wednesday's ruling was not a decision about whether those allegations are true. Instead, the case hit a major procedural roadblock because of a settlement the family previously signed with Jackson's estate.
"Although the allegations are horrific, the court is without discretion to do aught but enforce the language of the arbitration clause," Vera wrote in his August 12 decision, according to Billboard.
And that settlement is where this story gets particularly messy.
After HBO's Leaving Neverland reignited allegations against Jackson in 2019, the Cascios reportedly approached the estate with allegations of their own. The siblings have said the documentary effectively "deprogrammed" them and caused them to reconsider what they had experienced growing up around Jackson.
The estate subsequently reached a reported $3.5 million settlement with the family without admitting wrongdoing. That agreement included an arbitration provision requiring related disputes to be handled privately rather than before a jury in open court.
The Cascios now argue that the agreement should not be enforced because they were coerced into signing it. Judge Vera ruled that even that argument must first go before an arbitrator.
Their attorney, Howard King, isn't hiding his frustration.
"It's disappointing, but not surprising," King told Billboard, arguing that the family had hoped for a public jury trial but will instead have to pursue justice "from the dark confines of a private conference room."
Perhaps the biggest twist is just how dramatically the Cascios' position on Jackson has changed.
For years, members of the family publicly defended him. During a 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the siblings said Jackson had "never" behaved inappropriately with them. Frank Cascio went even further in his 2011 memoir My Friend Michael, defending Jackson's relationships with children.
The Jackson estate has seized on those earlier statements, vehemently denying the new allegations and previously characterizing the claims as a "desperate money grab."
The Cascios tell a very different story, alleging that their previous defense of Jackson was itself connected to years of grooming and manipulation. Those accusations remain allegations and have not been proven in court.
Frank Cascio is pursuing his own related claims separately, and he has already encountered the same obstacle. A California state judge ruled earlier this year that his dispute must also proceed through arbitration.
Meanwhile, the Jackson estate continues to face separate civil abuse litigation involving Leaving Neverland accusers Wade Robson and James Safechuck.
Jackson died in 2009 at age 50. He was acquitted of criminal child molestation charges following his highly publicized 2005 trial and was never criminally convicted of child sexual abuse. His estate continues to categorically deny allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
So while the latest headline sounds like another Jackson abuse case has simply been "thrown out," there's an important distinction: the judge did not rule that the Cascio siblings' allegations were false.
Instead, he ruled that the family had agreed years ago to fight disputes like this somewhere much less public.
For Jackson's estate, that means the allegations are out of a federal courtroom.
For the Cascios, the fight apparently continues - only now it will happen behind closed doors.
