(AP) TRENTON, N.J. A man who as a boy accused Michael Jackson of molesting him and got a $20 million settlement from the pop singer now has won a ruling that could bring a trial on a claim he was attacked by his own father.

The man is seeking a restraining order against his father, who he said "struck him on the head from behind with a twelve and one-half pound weight and sprayed his eyes with mace or pepper spray and tried to choke him," according to an appellate court ruling.

A state Family Court judge in Hudson County in August 2005 had granted the man a temporary restraining order, but later refused to issue a permanent order.

The two-judge appellate panel said that was a mistake, writing, "Given the nature of the attack, it would appear that a trier of fact could infer immediate danger from the evidence submitted."

The panel sent the case back for trial and the temporary restraining order remains in effect.

The three-page ruling, from June 8, was reported Tuesday by the New York Daily News.

The man's lawyer, Brian M. Schwartz, did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday and also did not respond to a request from the newspaper.

The father's lawyer, Raoul Bustillo, told the newspaper he would not discuss the case. He did not return a call Tuesday from The Associated Press.

The Associated Press is withholding the names of those involved to protect the identity of the accuser in the Jackson case. The man was a teen when he made the allegations against Jackson in 1993.