Michael Jackson Estate Wins Bid to Force Arbitration in Cascio Case

The four adult Cascio siblings who allege Michael Jackson sexually abused them on interstate or international trips when they were minors have lost their bid for a public trial of their child sex trafficking claims and must instead go to private arbitration with Jackson’s estate, a federal judge has ruled.

In a 10-page ruling obtained by Rolling Stone, U.S. District Judge Hernán D. Vera granted the estate’s motion to compel arbitration, finding the arbitration agreement included in a 2019 settlement with the siblings was enforceable. The four siblings had argued that the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 invalidated the agreement, but the judge said the EFAA did not 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. Although the allegations are horrific, the court is without discretion to do aught but enforce the language of the arbitration clause,” Judge Vera wrote.

Howard King, a lawyer for the Cascio family, expressed frustration with the ruling in a statement. “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. “The family had hoped the court would allow for a public trial over the decades-long molestations of the Cascio siblings by Michael Jackson and the ensuing cover-up by his advisors. Instead, the family will seek justice from the dark confines of a private conference room.”

The Jackson estate has vehemently denied the siblings’ claims. Lawyers for the estate did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Thursday.

Details of the Allegations

Frank Cascio and his siblings Dominic, Marie-Nicole, and Aldo filed their trafficking lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court last February. They alleged Jackson “groomed and brainwashed” them using his wealth, celebrity status, and network of employees and advisers. According to the complaint, Jackson met the brothers and sister through their father, who worked at a luxury hotel Jackson frequently visited. After gaining the family’s trust, Jackson allegedly isolated the children from responsible adults, plied them with drugs and alcohol, exposed them to pornography, and then abused them individually.

“Michael Jackson was a serial child predator who, over the course of more than a decade, drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted each of the plaintiffs, beginning when some were as young as seven or eight,” the 23-page lawsuit stated.

Martin Singer, a lawyer for the Jackson estate, previously dismissed the filing as a “desperate money grab” and noted that the family had defended the singer for over 25 years. The siblings, who once referred to themselves as Jackson’s “second family,” claim that the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland “deprogrammed” them, forcing them to recognize that the pop star’s actions were wrong.