By Andrew Dalton, Entertainment Writer
PASADENA, Calif. (AP) --A federal appeals court ruled Monday that a lawsuit filed by the Michael Jackson estate over an HBO documentary about two of the late pop star's sex abuse accusers can go forward in private arbitration.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with two lower courts and ruled in favor of the Jackson estate in its decision on "Leaving Neverland."
Unless there are further appeals, the case will go to a private arbitrator, which the Jackson estate argued was required by the 1992 contract at the center of the lawsuit.
That means the proceedings will be largely shielded from public view, though Jackson attorneys said in court filings that they would like for them to be as open as possible and sought private arbitration because it was the only way available to sue under the contract.
The decades-old agreement to put a Jackson concert on HBO required that the cable channel not disparage Jackson, which the lawsuit says it did by airing the molestation allegations of Wade Robson and James Safechuck in "Leaving Neverland."
"In the court's own words, HBO 'agreed that it would not make any disparaging remarks concerning Jackson,'" estate attorneys Howard Weitzman and Jonathan Steinsapir said in a statement. "It's time for HBO to answer for its violation of its obligations to Michael Jackson."
HBO had argued that the provision was no longer valid because both sides had performed their parts of the agreement. HBO has also more generally defended "Leaving Neverland" as a valid and important piece of documentary journalism.
HBO representative Karen Jones did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the decision.
Jackson's estate and family have said the documentary's allegations are false and came from two men who previously told authorities they were not molested.
In separate cases, Safechuck and Robson sued two corporations created by Jackson over their allegations.
Safechuck's lawsuit was dismissed last month.
"Leaving Neverland" director Dan Reed has been filming the hearings in those cases for a follow-up documentary.
Jackson died in 2009 at age 50.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More