A US bankruptcy judge has released the settlement statement for victims to vote for in the sexual misconduct case against film producer Harvey Weinstein, The Hollywood Reporter wrote on Tuesday.
Judge Mary F. Walrath on Tuesday released the statement which will be used to solicit women’s opinions and votes if they agree with the settlement claims.
The settlement, reached after two years of legal wrangling, includes a $17 million sexual misconduct claims fund and an $8.4 million liquidation trust settlement payment to cover bankruptcy claims, which is not related to sexual misconduct.
It also includes about $9.7 million toward defense costs for former representatives of the company, not including Weinstein himself.
The settlement examiner will approve the claims filed by the victims and award them “points”. The point system will decide how much money each claimant would get. According to it, if one woman secures 10 points, and there are 100 points in all, she would get about 10% of the total claim funds.
The deadline for voting on the settlement is December 18. If there are any objections to the settlement, they should too need to be filed by this date.
The confirmation hearing has been set for January 14 next year.
“Once a sexual misconduct claim is allowed, each accuser will have the choice whether or not to release all future claims against Weinstein. If a woman chooses to release him, she’ll get what the examiner determines to be her full share,” the website reported.
“Those who choose not to release him will only receive 25% of the value assigned to their claim using the points system, and the rest will go to the insurance companies. (The deal includes a mandatory perpetual release of claims against The Weinstein Company and TWC board members and execs, including Bob Weinstein.)”
Three ballot boxes will be used for voting on different sides of claims, one each for sexual misconduct, tort claims, and general unsecured claims. The court will go with the settlement if it is approved by two-third of voters and at least half from each class.
The disgraced media mogul has been in jail after getting prosecuted early in the year in a sexual crime committed against his production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
He has been accused of sexual misconducts, and rape, by dozens of women, since 2018 expose.
