redfrog;4166567 said:
What does the mandatory reporters thing have to do with the fact that Robson sill has to prove the companies had control
and had reason to know that Robson or anyone else was abused?
Yes. Even if the Judge takes a VERY liberal interpretation of the mandatory reporter rule they will still have to fulfill the knew/reason to know and control requirements.
I was wondering too how liberal that liberal interpretation can be, because if it is too liberal then that would make 99% of the companies mandatory reporters which doesn't make sense. I mean a lot of companies have here or there contact with children outside of their main profile. They may organize events from time to time which involves children, family events, competitions etc. Does that make their employees mandatory reporters even if their day to day main operation isn't focused on children? Would be extremely odd if that was the case.
BTW, here is the word of the law. Robson cited (6), (7) and (8). I think (6) and (7) is clear nonsense as MJJP/V wasn't either a day camp or a youth center. The only one which requires a deeper analysis is (8).
(6) An administrator of a public or private day camp.
(7) An administrator or employee of a public or private youth
center, youth recreation program, or youth organization.
(8) An administrator or employee of a public or private
organization whose duties require direct contact and supervision of
children.
(9) An employee of a county office of education or the State
Department of Education whose duties bring the employee into contact
with children on a regular basis.
Did anyone's duties at MJJP/V require direct contact and supervision of children? That is the question. Sending them gifts at MJ's request is not a duty to supervise children. And just because a company organizes a dance competition it doesn't necessarily transfer a duty of supervision on the organizing company. The children (like Robson too) went with their parents who supervised them.
BTW, I found a list yesterday which interprets exactly (8). I am quoting the preceding and following points as well so that you see it is exactly (8) that they interpret that way.
Administrator of a public or private day camp
Administrator or employee of a public or private youth center, youth recreation program or youth organization
Administrator or employee of a public or private children’s organization
Employee of a county office of education or the California Department of Education, whose duties bring the employee into contact with children on a regular basis
http://mandatedreporterca.com/who/who.htm
So that list interprets (8) as "administrator or employee of a public or private children’s organization". MJJP/V weren't children's organizations. I know it is the law that matters and that maybe gives room for a more liberal interpretation, but at the end of the day it will have to make sense, otherwise most companies would be included in that. I would imagine there are precedent cases and official law interpretations where it becomes more clear how it is generally interpreted and used. That's why we will have to see the Estate's reply and arguments to this.
Plus, like Ivy said, even if MJJP/V should have had mandatory reporters they surely weren't Blanca Francia (a maid) or Mark Quindoy (a cook). Those jobs aren't mandatory reporter jobs, not even in organizations where there are mandatory reporters. Charli Michaels complained that she was admonished by Norma Staikos for talking to guests. So I guess her duties did not include being in contact with guests, including children. (Plus were they even employed by MJJP/V? It seems Blanca Francia at least wasn't. That's the only info we have so far.) You will have to look at the contracts of these people and what duties they had by contract (and by whom they were employed by in the first place) to decide whether they would be mandatory reporters.
The issue also becomes more complicated because much of Robson's alleged abuse supposedly happened at Neverland which was a private property, owned by MJ, not MJJP/V. So for whatever they claim happened there they should sue MJ as a private person, not MJJP/V. And MJ is dead.
ivy;4166606 said:
The fact that he waited until decades after the alleged abuse took place – and three years after Jackson had died – has raised some eyebrows, but his lawyer says that Robson repressed the painful memories until 2012, after becoming a father to now 5½-year-son Koa.
(...)
"He started having all these things come up. This wasn't loving, normal behavior – things that the world just won't understand. If this were my child I would absolutely not be okay with it. This is sexual abuse. He went to a therapist."
What a moving, nice fairy-tale. Neither 1993 or 2005 or MJ's death in 2009 triggered those "painful memories", but they suddenly got triggered when Wade's career and personal life went downhill due to his familial mental illness. His alleged realization of abuse had nothing to do with the birth of his son. Here is the actual timeline of the events in his life:
Some time in 2010 - First approached about Cirque which he turns down (no reason given)
Some time in 2010 - Jamie King is hired to direct MJ Immortal (article dated November 3, 2010:
https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/press/news/2010/mj-presale.aspx)
November 2010 - Son born
December 2010 - Offered to direct Step Up 4
April 2011 - He's out of the movie citing personal reasons
April-August 2011 - 1st nervous breakdown
Early 2011 - Charles Joron from Cirque "considers" giving him an offer about Immortal, but he tells him it needs to be validated by MJ Estate.
First quarter of 2011 - Meets with Branca about Cirque plans.
May 16, 2011 - Starts cognitive therapy for about a month. Does not make allegations.
May 21, 2011 - Sends e-mail to Estate telling them he wanted to do the Cirque show "badly".
Mid-July, 2011 - Returns to work with "former sense of invincibility".
July 30, 2011 - Announces he's gonna direct Cirque du Soleil's MJ show.
http://www.tmz.com/2013/05/11/wade-robson-michael-jackson-cirque-du-soleil-video/
March, 2012 - 2nd nervous breakdown
Mid-April, 2012 - Starts insight-oriented therapy with another therapist.
May 8, 2012 - Makes allegations to his therapist, the first time ever.
September, 2012 - Sends e-mails to relatives and friends about a “transformational time” in his life.
March 2013 - Hires attorneys Gradstein and Marzano.
May 1, 2013 - Files complaint.
So after the birth of his son he was still discussing MJ/Cirque jobs. When for whatever reason those fell through that's when his sudden "realization" came about.
The thing that Koa's birth triggered was a desire by Wade's wife Amanda to move back to Hawaii. She said that in a blog interview in Hawaii that when their son was born she started to feel a desire to move back to her birthplace to Hawaii.
But you cannot have a showbiz career from Hawaii. So that coupled with Wade's mental issues made them decide for an early retirement in Hawaii, but they would need financing for that. And that's what really triggered this money-grub.
attorney Vince Finaldi tells PEOPLE exclusively.
They are totally, absolutely trying to make it a media circus to put bad publicity pressure on the Estate and make them settle.
"What triggered the amendment complaint is our review of the files and materials, and our determination that [Jackson] was in fact operating MJJ Productions as a child sexual abuse procurement operation. That was unquestionably the second purpose of this business," Finaldi alleges. "He was using it to pay for gifts for kids and parents in order to groom them for later sexual abuse. He was using it to pay for trips for kids, for plane tickets, for hotels to bring them with him on concerts and to also employ some of these kids as 'dancers' – but he would also be putting them into his room and sleeping with them at night and sexually abusing them."
Who are "some of these kids" besides Wade? They so love to talk about him in plural to make it appear as if this was some common practice to employ children at MJJP/V. LOL. Wade was only employed so that his family could get the green cards. Because THEY wanted them and MJ was nice enough to help! But that's what you get for being kind to people in this morally corrupt world. And which one of MJ's other alleged victims were ever employed by MJJP/V? Some "child abuse procurement organization" if they never even employed the other alleged victims.
The claim is just ridiculous and the media shouldn't just uncritically run with it, when there is plenty of FACTUAL material to refute this narrative - starting with the fact that it was Joy Robson who reached out to Norma and begged for a contact to MJ, not the other way around. Yet, these lawyers ridiculously represent it as some "orchestrated" scheme to lure Wade's family. How was it orchestrated by the companies for Joy to contact them? Through black magic? Laughable.
According to Finaldi, Robson, 33, is intent on "getting answers as to why this happened. If you can't figure out why this was allowed to happen, you can't protect kids from this happening in the future in the entertainment industry in general. One of his main concerns is making sure that this does not happen again and kids are protected. He wants to get the real story out there."
Again, nice sob story. If it was truly about getting answers and protecting kids he would start by pointing out the responsibilty of his own mother. Norma is a madame, but her mother - who actually called Norma, who pushed for the green cards etc. - isn't responsible for anything? If Norma is a madame then Joy Robson is a pimp, period. No way around that. And as a parent, as a mother, as someone who directly allowed those sleepovers she would bear a lot more responsibility in it than anyone at MJ's companies. Why doesn't Wade shout THAT from the rooftops - if it is all about justice and bringing awareness to protect kids in the future? Instead of trying to make Norma responsible because she put them on the phone with MJ or sent a limo for them. Joy Robson knew exactly where Wade slept. SHE as Wade's primary care-giver and guardian allowed that. Both her and Wade denied any abuse. So how would Norma and MJJP/V be more responsible than Joy Robson?
myosotis;4166608 said:
Going through the rest of the amended complaint, there are more oddities, and more nonsense.
Paras 83- 84 includes more copy/pastes.
(I've used P for Plaintiff and D for Defendants)
In 83 it says 'P's employment and personal development has been adversely affected, P has lost wages... She suffered at the hands of D's and will continue to lose wages. ...
In 84 at about points 11-12 Plaintiff is twice referred to as 'her'
Good catch. With all the school references it already felt like a copy&paste patchwork, now this is the confirmation. LOL. They just took another case they had and they are trying hard to make this one fit into that.
redfrog;4166643 said:
This BS was invented by his former lawyers. Safechuck says the same thing that he had to look at this SECOND child
to realize that he was abused.
How convenient that BOTH of them had the same "realization" process, both triggered by the birth of their children. Yeah, that sounds likely. Especially when they had the same lawyers. LOL.