Latest news with #Bugsy
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Yahoo
Police say one man dead, another arrested in South St. Paul shooting
Police in South St. Paul are investigating a fatal shooting that occurred Friday night. According to police, officers responded to an 8:50 p.m. call about a shooting in a residence in the 700 block of 12th Avenue North. Officers arriving at the scene found a man with an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene by medics. A 36-year-old man from Hudson, Wis., was arrested at the scene in connection with the shooting. Police said the victim and suspect were known to each other and that there is no ongoing threat to public safety. South St. Paul police were being assisted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation in collecting evidence and determining the circumstances of the shooting. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office was also investigating and will positively identify the victim. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact South St. Paul police at 651-413-8300. Jury deliberates in fatal shootout that followed St. Paul funeral reception Ex-Abercrombie CEO has dementia and is unfit for sex trafficking trial, prosecutors and defense say Minnesota woman faces federal charges for assaulting flight crew member Lakeville man is first ever convicted under new wage theft law in Minnesota New York jury awards $1.68 billion to women who accused 'Bugsy' writer James Toback of sexual abuse
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jury Awards $1.68 Billion to James Toback's Sexual Abuse Accusers
Originally appeared on E! Online A New York jury has awarded James Toback's accusers a sizable sum. The Two Girls and a Guy director was ordered to pay $1.68 billion to 40 women who accused him of sexual assault between 1979 and 2014, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers. The April 9 judgment, which has not been made available by the court, included $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion in punitive damages, attorney Brad Beckworth said in a release obtained by E! News. 'This verdict is about justice,' he emphasized. 'But more importantly, it's about taking power back from the abusers—and their and enablers—and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.' Beckworth, who in an interview described the jury's judgement as among the largest in New York state history, added that he was 'very proud' of his clients' 'brutally honest' testimony, calling it 'empowering—for them and for all women.' More from E! Online Tori Spelling Proves Ryan Cramer Romance Is Going Strong With Red Carpet Outing Chanel West Coast Makes Surprise Career Move After Ridiculousness Exit Rebecca Gayheart Shares Update on Eric Dane Relationship After Dismissing Divorce Toback, 80, who received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay for writing the 1991 drama Bugsy, repeatedly denied that he 'committed any sexual offense' and said that 'any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual,' according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press. He most recently represented himself in the case, per the outlet. E! News has reached out to Toback's lawyers for comment but has not heard back. The lawsuit was initially filed in 2022 under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window for survivors of sexual assault to sue their alleged assailants regardless of when the abuse occurred. It remains to be seen whether the filmmaker will be able to pay the 10-figure sum as he has described himself in court filings obtained by The New York Times as 'financially destitute.' Toback first faced allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017 amid the #MeToo movement, when dozens of women including and came forward with their accounts. By 2018, no less than 395 women had accused Toback of harassment, according to the Los Angeles Times. Prosecutors declined to file charges against him at the time as the accusations fell outside the statue of limitations, per the New York Times. For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
South China Morning Post
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Inside Hollywood veteran James Toback's fall from grace: a New York jury awarded US$1.68 billion to 40 women who accused him of sexual abuse over a span of 35 years, marking a huge #MeToo victory
On April 10, a New York jury awarded US$1.68 billion in damages to 40 women who accused writer and director James Toback of sexual abuse and other crimes over a span of 35 years, according to lawyers representing the plaintiffs. The decision stems from a lawsuit filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file lawsuits over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago. It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said lawyer Brad Beckworth, of the law firm Nix Patterson LLP, in an interview. The plaintiffs, he said, believe such a large verdict will send a message to powerful individuals 'who don't treat women appropriately'. Advertisement Beckworth said the abuse took place between 1979 and 2014. James Toback developed a gambling addiction while working as a university lecturer. Photo: AP Toback was nominated for an Oscar for writing 1991's Bugsy, and his career in Hollywood has spanned more than 40 years. Accusations that he engaged in years of sexual abuse surfaced in late 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained attention. They were first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Toback, 80, who most recently had represented himself, denied numerous times in court documents that he 'committed any sexual offence' and that 'any sexual encounter or contact between Plaintiffs and Defendant was consensual'. He also argued that New York's law extending the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases violated his constitutional rights. Here's everything to know about the disgraced film director: He grew up privileged
New York Times
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
James Toback Is Ordered to Pay $1.7 Billion in Sexual Assault Case
A jury in New York awarded $1.7 billion in damages to 40 women who sued the former movie director and writer James Toback over allegations of sexual assault, lawyers for the plaintiffs said. Mr. Toback, once a Hollywood fixture known for writing 'Bugsy' and directing 'The Pick-up Artist,' had been defending himself against the lawsuit for a couple of years but more recently had stopped participating in the case. He has denied the allegations against him. A judge entered a default judgment against him in January and a jury trial was held to determine how much money Mr. Toback would owe each plaintiff. On Wednesday, the jurors arrived at $42 million each, said Brad Beckworth, one of the lawyers who represents the women. Mr. Toback, 80, has described himself in court papers as being 'financially destitute,' and it is unclear how much of the judgment he will be able to pay. The women's allegations span from the late 1970s to the mid-2000s. Many of their accounts involve Mr. Toback approaching them in public, setting up meetings to discuss potential acting roles and then assaulting them at the meetings. Mr. Toback, who was accused in a Los Angeles Times article of being a serial harasser toward the start of the #MeToo movement in 2017, declined to comment in a text message on Thursday. He had been representing himself in court, including taking depositions of accusers himself. But he wrote in court papers last year that persistent health problems had made it difficult for him to keep up with the case. Mr. Beckworth said that during the weeklong trial to determine the financial damages, held in New York State Supreme Court, jurors heard the accounts of all 40 women, either in live testimony or from video depositions. Mr. Toback was not in the courtroom. One of the plaintiffs, Marianne Hettinger, said in court papers that in 1988, when she was about 25, Mr. Toback approached her on the street and said he wanted to cast her in a movie, showing his Directors Guild of America card as proof that he was a filmmaker. At a meeting at his apartment, according to court papers, he held her in place as he masturbated, and then forced her to touch his penis and humped her leg, telling her it was his 'process' as a director. Another plaintiff, Mary Monahan, had a similar account. She said that in the late 1990s, Mr. Toback approached her on the street in New York and invited her to audition for his next film. At the meeting, according to court papers, Ms. Monahan took off her clothes after Mr. Toback requested it, calling it a 'trust exercise.' The lawsuit said he then proceeded to hump her leg and ejaculate. In a statement after the verdict, Ms. Monahan said: 'This verdict is more than a number — it's a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars.' In 2017, shortly after the revelations about Harvey Weinstein's sexual abuse, allegations of sexual harassment against Mr. Toback were reported in The Los Angeles Times. He told the newspaper at the time that he had never met any of the accusers or that if he did, it 'was for five minutes and have no recollection.' He later gave a combative interview to Rolling Stone in which he was confronted with a couple of the specific accusations and replied: 'These are people I don't know, and it's things I never would have done. And it's just not worth talking about. It's idiotic.' In 2018, prosecutors in Los Angeles said they would not file charges against him in five cases in which he had been accused of sexual abuse because the statute of limitations had expired. The lawsuit in New York against Mr. Toback was filed after state legislation, called the Adult Survivors Act, gave plaintiffs an opportunity to sue over sexual abuse allegations even if the statute of limitations had passed. The suit included accusations from 45 women but five withdrew before the trial. The suit initially named the Harvard Club of New York City as a defendant because five plaintiffs said Mr. Toback had sexually assaulted them there. The suit accused the club, which terminated Mr. Toback's membership in 2017, of allowing abuse to go on 'unchecked' for decades. The club denied that accusation and last year, the plaintiffs removed the club as a defendant. Last year, Mr. Toback sought to significantly delay the court proceedings because of his health but was unsuccessful. 'The effort to move this case forward, despite my inability to appear to defend myself, flouts any common understanding of fairness,' he wrote in a June 2024 filing. Mr. Beckworth said the jury awarded the plaintiffs $280 million in compensatory damages for their suffering and $1.4 billion in punitive damages, which required a finding that the conduct was 'wanton and reckless, or malicious.' He said the next step would be assessing Mr. Toback's assets, saying, 'We'll try to get these women as much as we can.'
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
James Toback Ordered To Pay $1.7 Billion To 40 Women Following Sexual Assault Trial
Director James Toback was ordered Wednesday by a New York jury to pay $1.68 billion to 40 women who accused him of sexual assault. Brad Beckworth, an attorney for the victims, told The Associated Press the amount was one of the largest for sex assault damages in state history. 'I think this jury spoke loud and clear,' Beckworth said Wednesday, per Variety. '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.' During the nascent stages of the Me Too movement, a bombshell 2017 exposé by the Los Angeles Times brought up allegations against Toback from 38 women. The article prompted more than 300 other women to come forward within days of its publication. Toback, an Oscar nominee who wrote the Warren Beatty gangster film 'Bugsy' (1991), denied the allegations at the time. The Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said in 2018 that it was considering charges, but prosecutors cited expired statutes of limitation in declining. New York's 2022 Adult Survivors Act, which suspended such statutes for one year, provided victims with recourse. The plaintiffs filed their suit in December 2022, mere months after the law was passed. Toback reportedly didn't attend the trial or prior hearings, prompting the default judgment against him, though he denied the allegations early in the trial, according to Variety. On Wednesday, he was ordered to pay $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion in punitive damages, according to a release from Beckworth's firm, Nix Patterson. Many of his victims said he approached them with promises of fame before subjecting them to sexual acts around New York City. Beckworth said Wednesday that the crimes they endured spanned from 1979 to 2014. The seven-day trial saw 20 women take the stand and 20 more provide their testimony on video for the jury, Variety reported. Toback was accused of sexually assaulting them in his New York City apartment, in his editing suite, in public parks and in the Harvard Club. His accusers provided the Los Angeles Times with disturbing detail in 2017, saying Toback ejaculated in front of them, asked about their masturbation habits, ordered them to disrobe and rubbed his groin against their bodies — in hotel rooms, on movie sets and in offices. 'For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me,' lead plaintiff Mary Monahan said in a press release Wednesday. 'Believed us. That changes everything. This verdict is more than a number — it's a declaration. 'We are not disposable,' she continued. '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.' Need help? Visit RAINN's National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center's website. Warner Bros. To Turn Over Russell Brand Outtakes In Sexual Assault Case: Report Trump Marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month By Trashing Immigrants Andrew Tate's Ex-Girlfriend Accuses Him Of Violent Sexual Assault In Lawsuit
