Disney, CAA, and Miramax has lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Julia Ormond, who alleged the companies failed to protect her from now-jailed Harvey Weinstein.
“The complaint sufficiently alleges that CAA failed to protect Plaintiff from Weinstein, failed to warn her of his alleged reputation while simultaneously negotiating the production company agreement between Plaintiff and Miramax, and subsequently arranging the dinner meeting between Plaintiff and Weinstein,” according to the court’s decision. Los Angeles TimesAt the time of the alleged assault, Disney owned Miramax.
Actress – who gained fame with 1994 Legends of Autumnwhich also starred Brad Pitt, and the 1995 film The first knightIn October last year, Ormond filed a lawsuit against Richard Gere and Sean Connery, alleging that the disgraced movie mogul forced her to perform oral sex on him in December 1995. Ormond alleged that after she told the agents of the corporate watchdog agency — Bryan Lord and Kevin Huvane — what happened, they discouraged her from speaking out and did not help her. Although Lord and Huvane are named in the complaint, they are not named as defendants.
In a statement at the time, Ormond said she had lived for decades with the “painful memories” of her experiences with Weinstein, and thanked those before her who “took the risk of speaking out.” She added that their “courage and the Adult Survivors Act” gave her “a window of opportunity and a way to shine a light on how powerful individuals and institutions like talent agents at CAA, Miramax, and Disney enabled and provided cover for Weinstein to abuse me and countless others.”
In a statement to Rolling StoneA CAA spokesperson disagreed with the court’s ruling, saying they “continue to believe there is no legal or factual basis for Ms. Ormond’s allegations against the CAA.” The spokesperson also claimed that the agency “did not learn of Weinstein’s sexually abusive behavior until decades later.”
Representatives from Disney and Miramax did not immediately return. Rolling StoneRepresentatives for Ormond and Weinstein did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
In February 2020, Weinstein was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape in a separate trial. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison based on testimony from Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann. He has maintained his innocence.
In April, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the conviction. In the decision, a majority of the justices agreed that the judge who presided over Weinstein’s trial, Judge James M. Burke, should not have allowed defendants whose allegations were not part of the charges to testify at trial.
This article was updated on August 19 at 10:42 p.m. ET to include a statement from CAA.
