A California judge has set aside a 6.5 million default judgment against American musician Jermaine Jackson in a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault, ruling that the plaintiff failed to properly identify and serve him using his legal name.
The lawsuit was originally filed in December 2023 by Rita Butler Barrett, who alleged that the older brother of the late pop icon, Michael Jackson, violently assaulted her at her home in Encino, California, in the spring of 1988. Barrett claimed the musician unexpectedly arrived at her residence and assaulted her for several minutes before fleeing.
According to court filings, Barrett and her legal team attempted to locate the singer to serve him with the lawsuit, which included publishing legal notices in the Los Angeles Times in August and September 2025. After receiving no response, Barrett sought a default judgment, which was granted in May 2026, awarding her 6.5 million dollars in damages.
However, Jackson challenged the ruling, arguing that the lawsuit had been filed and the legal notices published under the name “Jermaine Jackson,” even though he had legally changed his name to “Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun” in 2013. He further argued that publishing the notices in Los Angeles was insufficient because he was residing overseas at the time.
In court documents obtained by media outlet TMZ, the judge agreed with Jackson’s arguments, ruling that the failure to use his official legal name, combined with publishing the notices locally despite indicators that he was living abroad, made the service invalid.
“The failure to use Jacksun’s true legal name is fatal, compounded by plaintiff’s decision to publish in Los Angeles, while Jacksun was apparently living overseas,” the judge ruled.
The court added that although locating defendants living abroad can be challenging, publishing notices in Los Angeles under an incorrect legal name left no basis to uphold the multi-million dollar default judgment.
Following the ruling, the judge voided the 6.5 million judgment and ordered Jackson to respond to the civil complaint within 10 days. The allegations remain part of an ongoing civil case, and the musician has not been found liable for the claims.
