Oscar winner appeals KO of rape suit

The screenwriter of “Million Dollar Baby” has appealed a ruling tossing his lawsuit against a publicist who accused him of rape.

Attorneys for two-time Academy Award-winner Paul Haggis filed papers Monday seeking to re-argue his case against Haleigh Breest to a midlevel appeals court. He claims that Breest inflicted emotional distress on him by demanding $9 million prior to filing her own civil lawsuit charging that he raped her in 2013 in his Mercer St. apartment.

"The threat to make a false claim of sexual assault public — or stated more bluntly, the threat to destroy someone's life and reputation in the media unless there is prompt agreement to pay exorbitant sums of money — is precisely the type of outrageous conduct that can and does cause severe emotional distress," Haggis's attorney Christine Lepera wrote in papers filed with the Appellate Division First Department.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Robert Reed ruled against Haggis in July. Reed said the suit, if allowed to proceed, would have a chilling effect on other victims of sexual abuse who seek to hold their abusers accountable. The $9 million demand came in the context of settlement talks between attorneys, he said.

Since Breest filed her suit, three other women — whose names have not been released — have come forward with abuse allegations against Haggis. Reed has said the veracity of those allegations will have to be determined as Breest's suit proceeds.

"We believe the First Department should affirm Justice Reed's thoughtful and well-reasoned decision." Breest's attorney Ilann Maazel said.