Jermaine Jackson has filed court papers denying that he raped a session musician coordinator in 1988.
He has asked a judge to nix a $6.5 million (£4.84 million) judgment that was granted in the lawsuit when he failed to respond to the claims.
The Jackson 5 member, who has had a prolific solo career with hits such as Daddy’s Home and Let’s Get Serious, was found liable by default last month after failing to respond to Rita Butler Barrett’s sexual assault and battery claims for more than two years.
Jackson has now said he didn’t ignore the claims on purpose.
“I did not know this lawsuit was pending in time to respond,” wrote Jackson in a court declaration, obtained by Billboard.
“I 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.”
Barrett, 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.
Barrett’s attorneys obtained the $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. Jackson maintains that all this was ineffectual because he lives in Bahrain, and the newspaper notices used his “obsolete former legal name”.
Jackson changed his name in 2013 to Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun. His lawyer argued that notices using the old name, Jermaine Jackson, were not enough to alert the singer to Barrett’s claims.
The motion urged Judge Elaine W Mandel to vacate the default judgment and allow Jackson to fully defend himself against Barrett’s allegations. The judge is set to consider this request at a 30 June hearing in Los Angeles.
