Good for them :thumbsup
Weinstein Reaches $44 Million Deal in Sexual-Misconduct Case
Harvey Weinstein, women who accused him of sexual misconduct, his former film studio’s board members and the New York attorney general’s office have reached a tentative $44 million deal to resolve lawsuits and compensate alleged victims of the Hollywood producer, according to people familiar with the matter.
Lawyers involved in the discussions told a bankruptcy-court judge Thursday that they had reached a deal but didn’t offer specific financial terms. “For the first time, as of yesterday…we now have an economic agreement in principle that is supported by the plaintiffs, the [New York attorney general’s] office, the defendants and all of the insurers,” said Adam Harris, a lawyer for studio co-founder Bob Weinstein, to Judge Mary Walrath of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.
Mr. Harris said the agreement, which hasn’t been finalized, would provide significant compensation to Mr. Weinstein’s alleged victims as well as creditors that did business with Weinstein Co. before it filed for bankruptcy last year.
The $44 million proposal includes about $30 million allocated for plaintiffs, a broad category that includes alleged victims, former Weinstein Co. employees and studio creditors, and would cover the plaintiffs’ lawyers fees, according to the same people familiar with the matter. About $14 million would be used to pay legal fees of Mr. Weinstein’s associates, including his former board members who were named as defendants in lawsuits, the people said.
The money would come from insurance policies, including those held by his former studio, the people said.
The proposed agreement wouldn’t affect a criminal case pending against Mr. Weinstein in Manhattan, which charges him with rape and other sex crimes. He has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.
The tentative deal is the product of mediation sessions that began last year with the goal of reaching a global settlement of all civil suits pending against Mr. Weinstein, his former company and associates.
The civil lawsuits, filed by women in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, name more than 15 defendants, including Mr. Weinstein and associates who were on the company’s board. Some of the alleged incidents in a proposed class-action lawsuit go back more than 25 years. The women claim Mr. Weinstein’s associates helped facilitate his alleged sexual abuse, which they have denied.
In the past few months, federal judges have allowed some claims against Mr. Weinstein to move forward but dismissed those against his associates, likely lessening the plaintiffs’ negotiating power.
The deal, if finalized, would also resolve a civil-rights lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general’s office last year that accuses Weinstein Co.’s executives and board of failing to protect employees from a hostile work environment and Mr. Weinstein’s sexual misconduct, the people familiar said.
While the goal of the negotiations has been to resolve all the civil lawsuits, it remains to be determined whether a final agreement would achieve that or exclude one or more cases, the people said. Advisers now in charge of Weinstein Co. in bankruptcy proceedings still need to approve the deal, a company lawyer said Thursday.
A spokesman for Mr. Weinstein didn’t comment. A spokeswoman for the New York attorney general’s office declined to comment.
A lawyer for plaintiffs in the proposed class-action suit didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for insurance company Chubb Ltd. and a lawyer for a committee representing Weinstein Co. creditors declined to comment.
