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DOVER, Del. (AP) – A Delaware judge has approved a revised Weinstein Co. bankruptcy plan that provides about $ 35 million to creditors, about half of which goes to women who have accused disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of misconduct sexual.
The judge approved the plan after a hearing on Monday, dismissing objections from lawyers representing producer Alexandra Canosa and actresses Wedil David and Dominique Huett, who accused Weinstein of sexual assault, and a former Weinstein Co. employee who claims to have been subjected to hostile labor. environment.
The settlement amount is $ 11.5 million less than under a previous plan, which was scrapped after a New York federal judge refused to approve a proposed $ 19 million settlement. dollars between Weinstein and some of his accusers. The settlement of this alleged class action lawsuit was a key part of the initial bankruptcy plan.
About half of the approved settlement, or roughly $ 17 million, is allocated to a single sexual misconduct claims fund, compared to about $ 25.7 million allocated for three separate categories of sexual misconduct claims under the previous plan. . Another $ 8.4 million will go to a liquidation trust to resolve complaints of non-sexual misconduct, and $ 9.7 million will be used to reimburse defense costs for former company officials other than Weinstein. The plan also relieves those officials of any liability for tort claims related to Weinstein’s conduct.
Holders of sexual misconduct claims will receive 100% of the cash value of their claims if they agree to release Weinstein from all legal claims. A plaintiff who chooses not to release Weinstein but to retain the option of suing him in another court would receive 25% of the value of his bankruptcy claim.
According to court records, 55 sexual misconduct complaints were filed in the bankruptcy case, with 39 claim holders voting in favor of the plan and eight voting against. Of the general unsecured claims holders, 81, or 96%, voted for the plan.
Claims for sexual misconduct will be assessed on a point system allowing a maximum of 100 points. This includes up to 60 points for claims of physical sexual misconduct, a maximum of 30 points for claims of non-physical sexual misconduct, and up to 10 points for claims for emotional distress and economic harm. A claims reviewer will have the authority to adjust point totals up or down based on factors such as age, corroborating evidence, past or pending litigation, and applicable limitation periods.
Lawyers for the women who oppose the plan described it in a court file last month as unfair and coercive.
“The point system pits women against women competing for limited clawback from the pathetically meager sexual misconduct claim fund,” they wrote.
“There is nothing fair about a plan that forces a rape victim to release her rapist in order to receive a full reward from the sexual misconduct fund,” they added. “There is nothing fair in financially revictimizing her by reducing her price by 75% if she does not agree to release her rapist.”
Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence after being convicted by a New York jury of the rape and sexual assault of two women.
Weinstein was also charged in California with rape, forced oral copulation, coercive sexual violence and sexual penetration by use of force. These allegations concern five women and stem from events in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills from 2004 to 2013.
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