Jermaine Jackson
$6.5 Million Default Judgment In Rape Case Tossed
Published
Jermaine Jackson looks he no longer has to cough up millions of dollars to his rape accuser … a judge voided the $6.5 million default judgment against him because the woman did not use his legal name while trying to serve him the lawsuit … TMZ has learned.
We told you all about it … plaintiff Rita Butler Barrett sued Michael Jackson‘s older brother in December 2023, claiming he “violently” raped her. She said Jermaine unexpectedly showed up at her Encino, California home in the spring of 1988 and raped her for several minutes until he abruptly stopped, leaving her traumatized.
According to the filings, she and her attorney tried tracking Jermaine down to serve him the lawsuit — even publishing a legal notice in the Los Angeles Times in August and September 2025.
When their attempts went unanswered, Barrett asked a judge to hold him accountable for essentially ghosting the case, and she was awarded $6.5 million in a default judgment back in May. That’s when Jermaine finally spoke up … telling the court the default judgment needed to be tossed because Barrett and her legal team did not use his true legal name and published the notices in Los Angeles, even though he lived overseas.
He said he was sued as “Jermaine Jackson,” but told the court he legally changed his name way back in 2013 to “Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun.”
In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, the judge agreed … noting, “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 ruling continued … “The court recognizes the difficulties in locating defendants living abroad. However, choosing to publish in Los Angeles after receiving notice that Jacksun was likely abroad, and doing so with an incorrect name, leaves no choice but to void the default judgment.”
The judge gave Jermaine 10 days to respond to the complaint.
We’ll stay tuned for the next movement in this case.