Michael Jackson a no-show in Louisiana court

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) – Michael Jackson failed to show up
in court on Wednesday for a hearing on a lawsuit by a man who
says the pop singer held him against his will and sexually
assaulted him in 1984.

Jackson or a lawyer had been ordered to appear before U.S.
District Judge Eldon Fallon to discuss who would defend the
singer in the lawsuit, but no one came, a court clerk said.

Fallon set Aug. 17 for a hearing in which Jackson must show
why he should not be held in contempt of court and a default
judgment issued against him, according to a court order.

Plaintiff Joseph Bartucci claims he was lured into
Jackson’s limousine during a trip to the 1984 World’s Fair and
sexually assaulted and battered while held against his will for
several days.

Bartucci, 18 at the time of the alleged assault, has said
his memories of the events were suppressed until two years ago,
when news coverage of child molestation charges against Jackson
in California revived them.

Jackson, 46, was acquitted last month of child sex abuse
charges in a sensational trial in Santa Maria, California, near
his Neverland Ranch.

Jackson spokesman Brian Oxman said Wednesday’s no-show was
the result of “an administrative problem that occurs in a big
organization.” He also rejected Bartucci’s claims.

“Michael Jackson has had many such lawsuits and each one
has resulted in him being exonerated or the case being
dismissed,” he said. “This is part of the magic and burden of
being Michael Jackson.”