Report: Weinstein Reaches $44M Deal With Accusers

Sources say insurance will cover settlement
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 24, 2019 4:45 AM CDT
Report: Weinstein Reaches $44M Deal With Accusers
Harvey Weinstein leaves State Supreme Court in New York, Friday, April 26, 2019.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Harvey Weinstein's legal team has reached a tentative deal to settle the many lawsuits pending against the disgraced former movie mogul, insiders say. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that the $44 million deal includes $30 million to pay plaintiffs—including former employees of the Weinstein Company and studio creditors as well as the numerous women who accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct—and $14 million to pay the legal fees of former Weinstein associates named in lawsuits. The sources say the entire settlement will be covered by insurance policies. The deal will also resolve a civil rights lawsuit brought by the office of New York state's attorney general, which accused the Weinstein Company of ignoring evidence of Weinstein's misconduct, the Journal's sources say.

"We now have an economic agreement in principal that is supported by the plaintiffs, the (New York attorney general's) office, the defendants, and all of the insurers that, if approved, would provide significant compensation to victims, creditors, and the estate and allow the parties to avoid years of costly, time-consuming and uncertain litigation on all sides," a lawyer for studio co-founder Bob Weinstein told a federal bankruptcy court judge Thursday, per the AP. He added that there was still "a lot of work to do," but he is "very optimistic." It's not clear whether the settlement, which will have to be approved by the courts, will include any admission of wrongdoing from Weinstein, the New York Times reports. His criminal trial on charges of rape and performing a forcible sex act is scheduled to begin in New York on Sept. 9. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)

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