Harvey Weinstein, his company and former associates have reached a $44 million settlement to resolve lawsuits regarding his alleged sexual misconduct.
Approximately $14 million of the settlement will be used to pay legal fees to Weinstein associates. The remaining $30 million will be given to the alleged victims, creditors and past employees of the Weinstein Co.
“We now have an economic agreement in principle that’s supported by the plaintiffs, the [New York Attorney General’s office], the defendants and all the insurers, that if approved will provide significant compensation to victims, creditors of the estate, and allow the parties to avoid years of costly, time consuming, and, you know, uncertain litigation on all sides,” Adam Harris, the attorney for Bob Weinstein, told Judge Mary Walrath of the US Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington.
The New York Attorney General’s Office filed the lawsuit last year, claiming that Weinstein and his company committed “egregious violations of New York’s civil rights, human rights, and business laws.”
The lawsuit additionally alleges employee-victim accounts of sexual harassment, intimidation and other misconduct.”
“I think this is positive for the victims involved and this helps them avoid the stress and trauma of full litigation,” said Aaron Filler, a California-based attorney for actress Paz de la Huerta, who said Weinstein raped her in her apartment on two separate occasions in 2010.
The settlement is separate from the criminal case. Weinstein is also facing criminal charges in New York, which he has pleaded “not guilty” to. He was indicted in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on sex crime charges involving three women. He was also charged with forcing two women to have oral sex with him. Lucia Evans, a marketing executive, said she was assaulted in his TriBeCa office in 2004, and Mimi Haleyi, a production assistant, said Mr. Weinstein assaulted her at his apartment in 2006.
The judge dropped the charge from Ms. Evans after the Manhattan’s district attorney’s office said that the lead detective in the case didn’t reveal information from a witness who said Ms. Evans gave a conflicting account about the alleged assault.
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