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Four brothers who claim they were abused by Michael Jackson as children appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Wednesday, January 14, and a judge noted that they would likely not be able to sue the “Thriller” icon’s estate due to a previous settlement, according to multiple news outlets.
Frank, Aldo, Marie Nicole, Dominique and Eddie Cascio have previously defended Jackson against child abuse allegations for decades, later claiming that they faced grooming, manipulation and sexual abuse at the hands of Jackson during their childhoods together. Their abuse claims were made after the release of the 2019 documentary series Leaving Neverland.
According to the outlet, the brothers (without Eddie) traveled to Los Angeles with their parents for a hearing on January 14th to invalidate a 2020 settlement that their lawyer, Mark Geragos, claimed was “unlawful” in court documents filed days earlier.
According to Rolling Stone, during the hearing, the judge chose not to issue an immediate ruling on a motion filed by Jackson’s estate attorney, Marty Singer, asking Casios to enter into confidential arbitration, which was called for in an earlier settlement agreement.
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Rolling Stone reports that Singer told the court that the brothers agreed to a deal with Jackson’s estate in 2020 and later renegotiated it for an even larger amount. He argued that filing a lawsuit publicly would violate the original agreement.
“We categorically refute these claims[of abuse by Jackson],” he told Rolling Stone. “The reason this case is moving forward is because of a $213 million extortion demand last summer.”
According to Rolling Stone, attorney Mark Geragos, who represents the Cassios, previously claimed the family felt coerced into the agreement.
In October, according to court documents, Geragos also argued that the agreement was “unenforceable” because it was intended to cover up the abuse.
In a preliminary ruling ahead of a Jan. 14 hearing, the judge said the court was willing to force arbitration, Rolling Stone reported. Geragos told the court he “sincerely” felt the interim ruling was “legally wrong.”
PEOPLE has reached out to both parties’ legal teams for comment.
After Rolling Stone and TMZ reported that one of the brothers was seen crying during the Jan. 14 hearing, Geragos said in a statement to USA Today: “Only five years after Mr. Blanca paid the Cascio family in a secret deal, the family went to court to see for themselves that Mr. Blanca was being called a liar on behalf of Mr. Singer and the estate because they trusted the Cascio family to tell the truth.”
Attorney Howard King, who also represents the Cassios, told TMZ he has 10 hours of video footage of the brothers’ sworn testimony detailing “horrific abuse” at the hands of Jackson. He also claimed that Mr. Singer had seen some of the testimony.
Mr. Singer issued a statement to USA Today saying Mr. King was “completely” lying. “I have never said anything like what he claimed,” he told the outlet.
“My co-counsel Jonathan Steinsapir, who was with me, acknowledges that Dr. King’s statements are a complete fabrication,” Singer continued. “Mr. King is simply trying to distract from the fact that the exorbitant $213 million demand that is the subject of our client’s extortion claims against Frank Cascio has been reported to the authorities.”
Another hearing is scheduled for March 5.
