Two men accusing Michael Jackson of child molestation can move forward with their case against the late singer's business interests.
A California appeals court overturned a lower court's ruling that James Safechuck and Wade Robson had waited too long to tell their stories.
Friday's decision was made possible by a California law that went into effect on New Year's Day, allowing victims of child sexual abuse to wait until as late as their 40th birthdays to sue third-party nonperpetrators. The previous cutoff was 26.
When Robson and Safechuck initiated their cases against the King of Pop, in 2013 and 2014 respectively, Robson was 30 and Safechuck was 36.
A probate court judge rejected the claims in 2015, saying they were too time-barred.
The men later amended their complaints to go after the "Thriller" singer's businesses, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures. Those actions also were dismissed for being too late.
Jackson's estate was quick to point out Friday that the new ruling did not decide the truth of the men's allegations.
"The Court of Appeal's ruling merely revived lawsuits against Michael Jackson's companies, which absurdly claim that Michael's employees are somehow responsible for sexual abuse that never happened," estate lawyer Howard Weitzman said in a statement.
"We are confident that both lawsuits will be dismissed and that Michael Jackson will be vindicated once again," he said.
Safechuck and Robson's cases were tried in the court of public opinion in March when the shocking HBO documentary "Leaving Neverland" painted a portrait of both boys' relationships with Jackson as exploitative and perverse.
Safechuck claimed the singer's abuse of him began in 1988 while Robson alleges Jackson's sexual deviance toward him started in 1990.
