Judge Signals Prior Settlement May Block Lawsuit Against Michael Jackson Estate

Four siblings who now allege they were abused by Michael Jackson appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Jan. 14, where a judge suggested a previous settlement could prevent them from suing the late singer’s estate.

Frank, Aldo, Marie-Nicole, Dominic and Eddie Cascio claim Jackson groomed, manipulated and molested them during their childhood. For decades, the siblings publicly defended Jackson against abuse allegations. Their accusations surfaced after the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland reignited scrutiny of the pop star’s legacy.

According to multiple reports, the siblings—excluding Eddie—traveled to Los Angeles with their parents in an effort to invalidate a confidential 2020 settlement with Jackson’s estate. Their attorney, Mark Geragos, has argued the agreement was unlawful and the result of coercion.

At Wednesday’s hearing, a judge declined to immediately rule on a request from the estate’s attorney, Marty Singer, to force the Cascio family into confidential arbitration, as outlined in the earlier settlement. However, the judge indicated the court was prepared to compel arbitration, signaling the siblings may not be able to pursue their claims publicly.

Singer told the court the family agreed to a settlement in 2020 and later attempted to renegotiate for more money. He denied the abuse allegations outright, calling them false, and claimed the dispute stemmed from what he described as a $213 million extortion demand made last summer.

“We categorically dispute these claims,” Singer said in court, according to reports.

Geragos pushed back, saying the settlement should not be enforced because it was intended to silence abuse claims. In court, he said he felt “passionately” that the tentative ruling in favor of arbitration was legally wrong.

Following the hearing, Geragos released a statement saying the family was deeply affected by seeing the estate’s representatives label them liars, despite the estate agreeing to a secret settlement five years earlier.

Another attorney for the siblings, Howard King, told TMZ he possesses 10 hours of sworn video testimony in which the siblings detail what he described as “horrific abuse.” He claimed Singer had viewed portions of that footage.

Singer strongly denied King’s claims in a statement to USA Today, calling them a “complete fabrication.” He added that his co-counsel, Jonathan Steinsapir, backed up his account and reiterated that the estate has an extortion claim pending against Frank Cascio.

One of the siblings was reportedly seen crying in court as the hearing concluded.

The case is set to return to court on March 5, when the judge is expected to further address whether the previous settlement will force the matter into private arbitration and effectively block a public lawsuit against Jackson’s estate.