A New York jury has awarded $1.68 billion (€1.55 billion) in damages to 40 women who accused Oscar-nominated writer and director James Toback of sexual abuse and misconduct spanning more than three decades.
The verdict stems from a 2022 lawsuit filed in Manhattan after New York enacted the Adult Survivors Act - a law that opened a one-year window for victims of sexual assault to file civil suits, regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred.
It marks one of the largest jury awards since the advent of the #MeToo movement, as well as in New York state history, said attorney 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.”
Beckworth said the verdict included $280 million (€258 million) in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion (€1.29 billion) for punitive damages to the plaintiffs.
“This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth said in a statement. “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.”
More than three decades of abuse
Toback, 80, was nominated for an Academy Award for his screenplay for Bugsy (1991) and has worked in Hollywood for more than 40 years. Allegations of serial sexual misconduct first surfaced in 2017, reported by the Los Angeles Times, as the #MeToo movement gained momentum.
In 2018, Los Angeles prosecutors said the statutes of limitations had expired in five cases they reviewed, and declined to bring criminal charges against Toback.
The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit in New York a few days after the state’s Adult Survivors Act went into effect. The lawyers said they discovered a pattern of Toback attempting to lure young women on the streets of New York into meeting him by falsely promising roles in his films and then subjecting them to sexual acts, threats and psychological coercion.
Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff in the case, called the jury award “validation” for her and the other women.
“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believed us. That changes everything,” she said in a statement. “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.”
Toback, who represented himself in the case, has repeatedly denied all allegations, claiming in court documents that any sexual contact with the women was consensual. He also argued that New York’s statute extension violated his constitutional rights.
In January, a judge issued a default judgment against Toback after he failed to appear in court. Last month, a jury trial was held solely to determine the amount of damages.
