Kevin Spacey must pay $ 31 million in damages for firing “House Of Cards” sexual misconduct, judge confirms

Kevin Spacey should pay House of cards Producer MRC awarded nearly $ 31 million for alleged behind-the-scenes sex acts on a Netflix show, a judge ruled today, saying it wasn’t even a “case closed.”

Spacey, now 63, starred in Frank Underwood House of cards and was deleted from the series after allegations surfaced that he was sexually taking advantage of young men. The allegations, which included the alleged involvement of a production assistant, prompted MRC to conduct an investigation and ultimately terminate its acting and production contracts.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana today upheld the arbitrator’s previous award in favor of MRC, consisting of approximately $ 29.5 million in damages and remaining costs and fees. The arbitrator ruled that Spacey’s conduct constituted a material breach of his executive producer-actor agreements.

Even in a closed case, the arbitrator’s decision must be valid, Judge Rekana wrote in her 14-page ruling.

“Here, [Spacey] He can’t prove this is even a closed case, “the judge said.

The judge noted that a November 2017 CNN.com article contained allegations that Spacey engaged in predatory sexual behavior pattern directed at young crew members on set. House of cards And that after the MRC learned of the allegations, they suspended the actor, investigated, removed Spacey from the show’s final season, and terminated his acting and executive producer contracts.

“We are pleased with the court decision,” MRC attorney Michael J. Kump of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP told Deadline.

Spacey’s attorney, Jonathan E. Phillips, argued that the award should be quashed, arguing that the arbitrator exceeded the scope of his authority when he considered extrinsic evidence in deciding damages.

The arbitrator concluded that Spacey breached the agreements by interacting with five specific crew members who only appeared as part of MRC’s indictment request against Spacey, including an internal investigation that began only after Netflix decided to remove Spacey from. sixth season. Other Phillips and Spacey attorneys have said in their new court documents.

Although Spacey disagrees with the arbitrator’s factual findings and claims that he has not sexually assaulted anyone, he understands and agrees that the arbitrator’s findings on the matter “have a right to be noticed,” the lawyers said. Spacey in their court papers. .

However, for what the referee did, which is the damage caused [MRC] not rationally related to the specific violations found by the arbitrator – [Spacey] you are entitled to an order from this court voiding the award, “Spacey’s lawyers said in court documents.

But Judge Recana wrote that “he was not required to conclude that the arbitration award was not based on a violation of the parties’ agreements or that it was based on [external] font.”

Beginning of November: The referee ruled in favor of MRC, behind the manufacturing company House of cardsIn the case against Kevin Spacey for firing him from the show because he suffered allegations of sexual harassment.

The ruling, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, sentenced MRC to pay $ 29.5 million in damages and $ 1.4 million in legal fees and expenses. MRC has sought compensation for lost earnings due to Spacey’s retirement.

Referee Bruce Friedman’s 46-page ruling was finalized in October 2020 and remains confidential, but its findings were made public Monday when MRC filed a motion with the Los Angeles Superior Court to uphold the award. (Read here) The three-judge panel also dismissed an appeal from Spacey and its producers, Profitt Productions and Trigger Street Productions.

A statement from MRC states: “The safety of our staff, stages and work environment is paramount to MRC and that is why we have decided to fight for accountability.”

The MRC motion states that Friedman “found that Spacey, due to some conduct with various crew members over the five seasons he starred in and as an executive producer of House of Cards, has repeatedly breached his contractual obligations.” . Your service was “professional” and “consistent”. [MRC’s] reasonable guidelines, practices and policies, including the MRC’s harassment policy, all without the knowledge of the MRC. “

MRC’s attorney, Michael Kump of Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump Holley LLP, said, “It has been a privilege to represent MRC in this matter. The MRC kept its position, stubbornly pursued this case and eventually got the right result. “

A Spacey attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House of cards was one of Netflix’s early successes, setting the streamer’s strategy of releasing each episode at once and almost indelibly associating Spacey with its Machiavellian hero Frank Underwood. He was supposed to do a sixth season of the series, but those plans fell through after allegations of sexual misconduct against him came to light.

In October 2017, Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making unwanted sexual advances when Rapp was 14. Spacey apologized and statement on Twitter And he said it was “homemade to hear his story”. “I want to deal with it honestly and openly, and that starts with examining my behavior,” she wrote.

But CNN also released a report with complaints from eight anonymous crew members who complained of harassment, brawling, and the MRC suspended production to investigate. Based on the workplace investigator’s findings, MRC concluded that Spacey violated its Code of Conduct and Agreements of Conduct “which set standards for your conduct in the workplace, including violating the harassment policy of MRC “, according to MRC’s presentation.

The series continued for another season with Robin Wright at the helm, but the MRC filed a lawsuit against Spacey in 2019, claiming they lost money by rewriting the sixth season and cutting it from 13 episodes to just eight.

According to the MRC, the arbitration hearing involved 8 days of live testimony and 20 hours of videotaped deposition.

“With one exception, the arbitrator found the third-party witnesses credible and held the allegations against Spacey to be true,” the MRC said in a statement.

Spacey also filed a counterclaim, arguing that after he was fired from the series, he was owed money and had not violated the contract. But this request was also rejected in arbitration. space in recent years has attached A series of Christmas messages that he posted on social media.

City News Service contributed to this report.