Legal Name Technicality Wipes Out Jermaine Jackson's $6.5 Million Judgment

A $6.5 million default judgment against Jermaine Jackson just got erased—not because the allegations went away, but because of a legal slip-up that highlights how crucial the details are when serving someone with a lawsuit.

Rita Butler Barrett sued Michael Jackson’s older brother in December 2023, alleging he showed up at her Encino, California home in spring 1988 and violently raped her. The case stalled when Barrett and her legal team couldn’t locate him to properly serve the lawsuit. They published legal notices in the Los Angeles Times in August and September 2025 and eventually convinced a judge to award her a $6.5 million default judgment in May 2026—essentially penalizing him for not responding.

Here’s where it gets technical: Jermaine Jackson waited until June to challenge the judgment, arguing that Barrett had sued him under the wrong name. He claimed he legally changed his name back in 2013 to Jermaine LaJuane Jacksun—not“Jermaine Jackson.”The judge agreed. In a ruling obtained by TMZ, the court noted that using the incorrect legal name was“fatal,”especially paired with publishing notices in Los Angeles when Jacksun was apparently living overseas.

The ruling acknowledged the real difficulty of tracking down defendants abroad but concluded that the combination of an incorrect name and the wrong publication location left no choice but to void the entire judgment. Jacksun now has 10 days to respond to the actual complaint—meaning this case is far from over. It’s a stark reminder that even in high-stakes legal battles, the procedural boxes have to be checked exactly right, or everything can unravel.