The lawyer for a man who has sued Michael Jackson for alleged sexual abuse is seeking to withdraw from the case, saying he cannot prepare for a trial scheduled Jan. 14 because Daniel Kapon has “effectively disappeared.”

Since a court hearing in November, “I have not seen Daniel Kapon ... nor do I know his whereabouts or condition,” attorney Barry Fischer of Los Angeles says in a court declaration obtained by On Point. “I have written to him, called him, sent emails but to no avail.”

“I do not know if he is ill, dead or simply refusing to respond,” Fischer continues. “I simply cannot prepare for trial under these circumstances. I cannot prepare without a client.”

Kapon filed his complaint in July 2005, alleging the former King of Pop “repeatedly and forcefully sexually molested him” between the ages of 2 and 14 and kept him captive at locations including the Neverland Ranch in Santa Barbara County.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed the child molestation claim in December 2006 and a trial this month on the remaining claims –- which include sexual battery and false imprisonment -– now appears in doubt. A hearing on Fischer's motion to be relieved as counsel is scheduled for Jan. 10.

Fischer, a personal injury and family law specialist, began representing Kapon in August 2007, replacing Michael G. Mattern of Newport Beach. “However, since the November 27, 2007 hearing, Daniel Kapon has effectively disappeared,” the declaration says.

According to Fischer, Kapon's mother has told him that her son was “homeless, living in a car” and that he was sick with the flu from Nov. 10 to Nov. 27.

Jackson, of course, is no stranger to sexual abuse cases. Just before Kapon filed suit, he was acquitted of molesting a boy at Neverland and a Louisiana man's civil complaint was dismissed in 2006.

On his website, Fischer says he provides clients “with the utmost in personal attention ... Barry Fischer is available and accessible to his clients and communicates with them on a regular and timely basis.” Except, apparently, in the case of Daniel Kapon.

By Matthew Heller
1/3/08