Michael Jackson Wins Lawsuit – 1996 Evan Chandler lawsuit

Michael Jackson Wins Lawsuit (LAUNCH, 08/23/1999 4:00 PM) By Wendy Hermanson (8/23/99, 1 p.m. PDT) – King of pop Michael Jackson has been cleared of wrongdoing in a breach of contract suit. In 1996, Jackson was sued by Evan Chandler, a young Californian he was accused of molesting; Chandler claimed that Michael had violated the settlement they had reached concerning the allegations, although Jackson was never formally charged by the court system. After pretrial hearings, the 1996 suit was sent to an arbitrator for judgment. Last month, the arbitrator cleared Jackson of any wrongdoing stemming from Chandler’s 1996 lawsuit. Jackson’s lawyer, Steve Cochran, told LAUNCH that the decision means there was no breach of contract on Michael’s part, and that Michael is free of any other liability in this case. Cochran also spoke to the Santa Barbara News-Press, and he said, “We are very satisfied with the judgment, because it indicates the claims asserted by [the plaintiff] in the complaint he filed in Santa Maria were groundless.” — Bruce Simon Source: http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentID=165067