Weinstein Co. Requests Class-Action Suit Dismissal, Says Harvey Acted Alone
The Weinstein Company has formally responded to one of the class-action lawsuits facing the company, saying co-founder Harvey Weinstein acted alone and that in some instances the statute of limitations had run out on the claims.
“Virtually all of the alleged conduct about which plaintiffs complain in the complaint was committed by H. Weinstein, acting alone, between ten and twenty-five years ago,” the company maintained in a memorandum of law filing today in New York federal court to support its motion to dismiss. (Read the filing here.)
Further, it added, “None of the plaintiffs have pleaded facts demonstrating any concrete, non-speculative injury to their business prospects, nor have they alleged how TWC’s alleged conduct was the direct cause of such injury.”
The response takes pains to place the substance of the claims squarely in the rear-view mirror and asks for the suit to be dismissed. “Plaintiffs’ allegations make clear that TWC’s alleged conduct has stopped and is not likely to occur in the future,” the company says. “Specifically, plaintiffs allege that, had they known about H. Weinstein’s conduct beforehand, they would not have been injured. Yet now, all plaintiffs acknowledge that they know about H. Weinstein’s alleged conduct, and therefore by their own pleading, they will not be subject to future injury. Furthermore, as plaintiffs admit, TWC no longer employs H. Weinstein, further demonstrating that future alleged injuries to Plaintiffs are not likely to occur in the future.”
The class-action was filed last December, citing the federal RICO Act on behalf of six plaintiffs and following in the wake of a different class-action suit brought in November. “Weinstein’s widespread sexual misconduct did not occur without the help of others,” the original complaint said. “The proverbial ‘casting couch’ was Harvey Weinstein’s office of choice, a choice facilitated and condoned by Miramax, The Weinstein Company and its Board of Directors.”
Initial reporting by the New York Times and New Yorker exposed dozens of allegations against Harvey Weinstein and has prompted months of similar reports across the entertainment business and many other sectors. Through a spokesperson, Weinstein has long insisted that he did not participate in any non-consensual sexual acts.
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