Latest news with #NewYorkAdultSurvivorsAct
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
James Toback Hit With $1.7 Billion Verdict in Sex Assault Suit Involving 40 Women
Director James Toback, who was among the first to be singled out in the #MeToo scandal in 2017, was ordered on Wednesday to pay $1.68 billion after a sexual assault trial in New York. Toback, 80, was accused of abusing his power in the film industry to sexually assault women across four decades. 40 women testified at the seven-day trial, resulting in what their attorneys believe to be the largest sex assault verdict in state history. More from Variety Harvey Weinstein's Fate Puts Hollywood on Notice James Toback Will Not Face Charges in Los Angeles Harvey Weinstein, James Toback Under Investigation by Beverly Hills Police Department 'I think this jury spoke loud and clear,' said Brad Beckworth, an attorney for the plaintiffs, saying he had argued that the #MeToo movement had not gone far enough. 'We wanted their voice to be heard and to reverberate across the country to tell insiders and people in positions of power that we will not tolerate using that power against women.' Toback did not attend the trial. Earlier in the case, he issued a blanket denial, including a claim that any sexual activity was consensual. He was acting as his own attorney at the time. He did not show up for pre-trial hearings, leading to a default judgment against him. Toback did not respond to messages seeking comment on Wednesday. The six-member jury was convened to decide on damages. After deliberation, the jury awarded $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion in punitive damages. The attorneys will next have to assess whether Toback has any assets they can pursue. 'We'll try to recover it, but that's not the only motivating factor,' said Ross Leonoudakis, another plaintiffs' attorney. 'We saw a unique opportunity to help these survivors seek justice.' Toback wrote the 1991 film 'Bugsy,' and wrote and directed 'The Pick-up Artist' and 'Two Girls and a Guy.' He was accused of prowling the streets of New York for decades, looking for young women to invite to meetings with the promise of movie offers. He was accused of sexually assaulting them at the Harvard Club and at other locations around New York, including his apartment, his editing studio, and public parks. The accusers — most now in their 40s and 50s, and some in their early 70s — were allowed to bring the lawsuit under the New York Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year window in which the statute of limitations was suspended for sexual assault. The suit was first filed in December 2022. Over the course of the trial, 20 women testified in person. Video depositions of another 20 women were also played for the jury. Mary Monahan, the lead plaintiff, said in a statement that the verdict represents 'validation.' 'For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me,' Monahan said. 'Believed us. That changes everything. This verdict is more than a number — it's a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else's power trip. The world knows now what we've always known: what he did was real. And what we did — standing up, speaking out — was right.' Karen Sklaire Watson, another plaintiff, said the verdict will make New York safer for women. 'We're drawing a line in the sand: Predators cannot hide behind fame, money, or power,' she said in a statement. 'Not here. Not anymore.' The plaintiffs initially sued the Harvard Club of New York, arguing the club was negligent in allowing Toback to use it for so many sexual assaults over so many years. The plaintiffs agreed to discontinue the case against the Harvard Club in January 2024. The L.A. Times first reported allegations against Toback from 38 women on Oct. 22, 2017, just two weeks after the New York Times reported a history of harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein. The report triggered an avalanche of similar allegations against numerous Hollywood figures, as well as new laws protecting sexual assault accusers and making it easier for them to bring lawsuits. 'We'll try to recover it, but that's not the only motivating factor,' said Ross Leonoudakis, Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week What's Coming to Disney+ in April 2025 The Best Celebrity Memoirs to Read This Year: From Chelsea Handler to Anthony Hopkins
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Child sex abuse lawsuits naming NYC doctor pour in ahead of deadline
Editor's Note: The video above originally aired on Oct. 19, 2019. NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Over 60 people have used a soon-expiring New York City law to allege they were sexually abused as children by Dr. Reginald Archibald, adding to a mountain of accusations against the late doctor. Six lawsuits were filed in New York City in February using a 2022 New York City amendment to the Gender-Motivated Violence Act that briefly lifted the nine-year filing window for cases involving sexual violence, domestic violence, human trafficking and more. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State The two-year 'lookback window' that removed time restrictions on these cases ends Friday. It has already made other high-profile cases possible, including multiple cases against Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler, according to the New York Times. A similar state law, the New York Adult Survivors Act, allowed victims over 18 to file claims without time constraints until November 2023, spawning other high-profile cases, including accusations against Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. In 2023, at least one case was filed using the state law naming Archibald, a former Rockefeller University Hospital endocrinologist, and the Boys & Girls Club of America. At the New York City Boys & Girls Club location, Archibald was known as the 'pool doctor,' according to a lawsuit filed Monday. More Local News In that case, 20 former Madison Square Boys Club members claim Archibald was sexually inappropriate with 'all or almost all of his child patients.' 'Sadly, the abuse for many boys was indeed 'life-changing,' inflicting deep-seated wounds and suffering,' the attorneys wrote. In another lawsuit filed Feb. 5, five people alleged Archibald's victims could be in the thousands, calling the doctor one of the 'most prolific' abusers in the world. As Archibald's employer, The Rockefeller University is named in all of the lawsuits filed in February. According to a 2018 NPR report, the hospital said it had alerted authorities to allegations of inappropriate conduct by the doctor, which they were made aware of in 2004. The Rockefeller University Hospital did not respond to PIX11 News' requests for comment. In a statement to PIX11 News, the Boys & Girls Club said it takes kids' safety very seriously. 'We fully recognize that although these alleged incidents occurred many years ago, time does not erase any pain experienced by survivors and their families and we remain both shocked and deeply concerned by this extremely serious matter,' a spokesperson for the organization said. 'Crimes of abuse run counter to everything our mission stands for – no harm should come to any child under any circumstance.' Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
