New York Daily News

Weinstein accuser hits $19M deal

- BY STEPHEN REX BROWN

A Harvey Weinstein accuser urged a judge to reject an $18.9 million settlement for victims on Friday, saying it let the perv producer off too easy by having insurers cover the bill.

Zoe Brock (inset), who says she was assaulted in 1998 by the convicted rapist, will not participat­e in the class action deal negotiated by state Attorney General Letitia James.

Brock’s attorney Daniel Williams, citing bankruptcy documents, said the settlement fund is “wholly funded by insurance companies.”

“Mr. Weinstein is paying nothing. His brother, Robert Weinstein, who enabled the abuse by turning a blind eye, is paying nothing. The wealthy officers and directors of The Weinstein Company and Miramax, who allowed Mr. Weinstein’s reprehensi­ble conduct to continue for decades, are paying nothing,” he wrote.

“The settlement papers before the court do not explain why these wealthy men are being asked to contribute literally nothing to a settlement that releases them from the potential of huge damages judgments against them.”

A judge will consider whether to approve the settlement next week. Attorneys Doug Wigdor and Kevin Mintzer, who represent six Weinstein accusers, previously called the deal “a complete sellout.”

The Daily News reported in December that more than two dozen women, whose claims were barred by the statute of limitation­s, had agreed in principle to a deal. A handful of holdouts were unhappy with the terms and expressed frustratio­n with James’ handling of negotiatio­ns. The deal resolved a 2018 lawsuit by the AG’s office against The Weinstein Company, Harvey and Robert Weinstein and a class action suit brought by the movie mogul’s sexual assault victims.

“This agreement is a win for every woman who has experience­d sexual harassment,” James said when announcing thedealonJ­une30.James’office did not respond to a request for comment. Weinstein is broke and serving 23 years in prison.

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