Judge rejects Weinstein settlement
Expressing deep skepticism, a federal judge Tuesday upended a $25 million proposed civil settlement between Harvey Weinstein, his former film company, and dozens of women who have accused him of sexual harassment and abuse.
In a scathing 18-minute phone hearing on Tuesday morning, Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York picked apart the class-action lawsuit at the heart of the deal, suggesting it was misconceived. He asked why the women were not pursuing individual cases, given how much their allegations varied in severity, and whether the group met the definition of a legal class.
“What is there to make me believe that a person who just met Harvey Weinstein has the same claim as the person who is raped by Harvey Weinstein?” the judge asked.
He went on to question how the women’s allegations would be evaluated and the money allocated among them, and called an additional $12 million that would have gone toward legal fees for Weinstein and his former company directors “obnoxious.” He criticized Beth Fegan, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs in the class-action case, saying she wasted time “with settlements and attempts to create a class that doesn’t exist.”
By the end of the call, the judge had denied a motion for preliminary approval of the agreement — in essence, scuttling the deal, lawyers said. His decision renewed a lingering question: Will the nearly 100 women who have come forward with allegations of sexual abuse by Weinstein, now a convicted rapist, see any restitution?
The proposed settlement, and now the judge’s rejection, has left Weinstein’s alleged victims divided between those who supported the deal, calling it flawed but necessary, and those who opposed it.
“Today felt like a huge setback,” said Caitlin Dulany, one of the lead plaintiffs. “The whole point of me doing this was to represent a class, of a hundred-plus women, and many more who haven’t spoken out,” she said in an interview. “The #MeToo movement brought us all together, it’s about survivors joining forces.” Now, she said, the judge has separated them again.
The proposed settlement did not require Weinstein to admit wrongdoing or make any payments to his alleged victims, relying instead on insurance coverage.
While Weinstein was convicted of sex crimes against two women earlier this year, and is serving a 23-year prison sentence, the civil settlement has long been seen as the last, best hope for legal recourse for his numerous other alleged victims.