{"id":10881,"date":"2026-06-05T10:49:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T10:49:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/jermaine-jackson-asks-to-wipe-6-5-million-assault-lawsuit-judgment\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T10:49:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T10:49:29","slug":"jermaine-jackson-asks-to-wipe-6-5-million-assault-lawsuit-judgment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/jermaine-jackson-asks-to-wipe-6-5-million-assault-lawsuit-judgment\/","title":{"rendered":"Jermaine Jackson Asks to Wipe $6.5 Million Assault Lawsuit Judgment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tJermaine Jackson has, for the first time, filed court papers denying that he raped a session musician coordinator in 1988 \u2014 and he wants to axe a $6.5 million judgment in her lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Jackson 5 member, who has also had a prolific solo career with Billboard Hot 100 hits like \u201cDaddy\u2019s Home\u201d, \u201cLet\u2019s Get Serious\u201d and \u201cDo What You Do,\u201d was found liable by default last month after failing to respond to Rita Butler Barrett\u2019s sexual assault and battery claims for more than two years. But on Tuesday (June 2), Jackson said he didn\u2019t ignore the claims on purpose.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cI did not know this lawsuit was pending in time to respond,\u201d wrote Jackson in a court declaration, obtained by Billboard<\/em>. \u201cI did not rape plaintiff. I did not sexually assault plaintiff. I deny the material allegations of the complaint, deny liability and dispute damages. I request the opportunity to defend this case on the merits.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrett, a music contractor who worked with Jackson in the late 1980s, sued the singer in 2023 under a one-year legislative window that allowed rape victims to bring claims that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations. She alleged that in the spring of 1988, Jackson showed up at her Los Angeles-area home unannounced, forced his way through the door and violently raped her.<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrett\u2019s attorneys obtained a $6.5 million default judgment after trying and failing to serve Jackson at an Encino address and then publishing multiple notices in the Los Angeles Times<\/em>. Yet Jackson maintains that all this was ineffectual because he lives abroad in Bahrain, and the newspaper notices used his \u201cobsolete former legal name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tJackson changed his name in 2013 to \u201cJermaine LaJuane Jacksun.\u201d His attorney, Bret Lewis<\/strong>, argued in a Tuesday motion that notices using the old name \u201cJermaine Jackson\u201d were not enough to alert the singer to Barrett\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is not a case of a defendant ignoring papers actually received,\u201d wrote Lewis. \u201cIt is a case of constructive notice stacked on constructive notice, under an obsolete former legal name, despite public records showing defendant\u2019s correct legal name and plaintiff\u2019s own service evidence pointing away from California and toward an overseas location.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe motion urged Judge Elaine W. Mandel to vacate the $6.5 million default judgment and allow Jackson to fully defend himself against Barrett\u2019s allegations. The judge is set to consider this request at a June 30 hearing in Los Angeles. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrett\u2019s lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday (June 4).<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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