Federal judge dismisses child sex trafficking lawsuit against Michael Jackson estate, sending claims to private arbitration

On 12 August 2026, Judge Hernán D. Vera dismissed the Cascio siblings' child sex trafficking lawsuit against the Michael Jackson estate. The four siblings alleged Jackson raped and molested them as children over more than a decade. Vera ruled their claims must go to confidential arbitration under a 2019 settlement that paid the family $3.5 million without admitting wrongdoing. The siblings' unconscionability arguments must be heard by an arbitrator, not a court.