Sexual Harassment News: Harvey Weinstein Federal Lawsuit
Weinstein Accusers Seek to Block Emails Unearthed in Del. Bankruptcy Action
Attorneys in a class action suit against Harvey Weinstein say the former Hollywood mogul is improperly looking to mine the discovery process in Delaware federal court for information to discredit sexual assault claims against him in Manhattan federal court.
The legal flare-up has resulted in filings and counter-filings between the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, as each side has accused the other of trying to manipulate proceedings in one for an advantage in the other.
The allegations by the plaintiffs in Geiss v. The Weinstein Co. mirror those in parties in other suits against Weinstein. Wigdor LLP name attorney Douglas Wigdor and private attorney Kevin Mintzer, who represent a Jane Doe plaintiff in Doe v. The Weinstein Co., accused Weinstein’s legal team days earlier of using the Delaware bankruptcy proceedings “to support a media campaign against many alleged sexual assault victims that embraces stereotypes and dated rape myths.”
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Back in New York, the attorneys in the Geiss suit, led by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro name attorney Elizabeth Fegan, filed a motion a week later with U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York, seeking a protective order against Weinstein.
As Fegan pointed out, Weinstein has previously sought a stay in the Geiss suit pending criminal proceedings brought by the office Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.—a move Weinstein made in other civil suits, including the Jane Doe matter. Weinstein’s true motives regarding the Delaware discovery process, according to Fegan, is to “impugn and attack his victims who have filed civil lawsuits while avoiding” the “oversight of an orderly discovery process” in Manhattan federal court.
“He should not be able to play federal courts in different jurisdictions with diametrically opposed positions,” Fegan said. read more »
Harvey Weinstein’s scorched-earth defense against rape allegations has had some success. It could also backfire
In the six months since his arrest on sexual assault charges, Harvey Weinstein and his legal team have not hesitated to strike back at those who have accused him of wrongdoing.
The women who say they were victims? Unreliable and opportunistic.
The cops who investigated him? Corrupt.
The prosecutors who obtained the indictment? Not interested in justice — merely bowing to the intense pressure brought on by a #MeToo movement that in many ways sees Weinstein as its arch-villain.
Faced with accusations from nearly 80 women in New York, Los Angeles and London, Weinstein could serve extensive jail time if convicted as a serial sexual predator., But his scorched-earth defense strategy has won him some short-term victories. read more »
