CAA, Disney Sued For Allegedly Enabling Sex Crimes By Harvey Weinstein

CAA has been named in a lawsuit filed by Julia Ormond against Harvey Weinstein accusing her former agency and the former movie mogul’s employers at Miramax and Disney of turning a blind eye to his history of sexual assault.

Ormond, who rose to prominence in the 90s after starring in Legends of the Fall, First Knight and Sabrina, faults CAA for failing to “look out for her well-being, to not place her in danger, and to warn her about Weinstein’s predations” despite high-level agents allegedly knowing about his “propensity for sexually assaultive and exploitative behavior,” as well as “multiple confidential settlements that Weinstein reached to keep his conduct hidden from public exposure.”

The complaint filed on Wednesday in New York state court points to former agents Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane allegedly encouraging her to take a meeting with Weinstein that led to her being assaulted and not to report the incident to law enforcement. She also blames Disney executives Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Eisner for negligently shifting responsibility on supervising Weinstein, with the aim of overlooking the misconduct to continue profiting off of the company’s dealing with Miramax. None of the individuals were named in the lawsuit as defendants.

“The men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein,” states the complaint. “So too did Weinstein’s employers at Miramax and Disney. Brazenly, none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money.”

In a statement, a CAA spokesperson said the allegations in the lawsuit are “completely without merit.” It said that it initiated an investigation led by law firm Paul Weiss, which “found nothing to support Ms. Ormond’s claims” against the agency, after it was approached by the actress’ attorney with a demand for $15 million “in exchange for [her] not making the allegations against CAA public.”

The spokesperson added, “Out of respect for Ms. Ormond, CAA shared the results of Paul Weiss’s investigation with her, through her counsel, providing evidence of a dynamic and engaged relationship between CAA and Ms. Ormond, and the agency’s consistent efforts to support her career throughout her time at the agency, from 1995 – 1999.”

Ormond alleges sexual battery against Weinstein and negligent supervision against Miramax and Disney. She also accuses CAA of negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. The complaint was filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily lifted time constraints on claims involving sex offenses for a one year period.

The lawsuit details a meeting between Ormond and Weinstein in 1995 to discuss funding for a title she was developing. She claims, “Weinstein said he would only discuss the project back at the apartment Miramax had provided for Ormond as part of their first-look deal with her. Her defenses down because she had consumed several drinks, and wanting to finally get to what she thought was the purpose of their meeting, Ormond agreed to have Weinstein come back to her apartment. Soon after, Weinstein stripped naked and forced her to perform oral sex on him.”

After Ormond recounted the assault to Lourd and Huvane, they allegedly told her “she may not be believed and that she “risked further angering Weinstein” if she went to the police because it was his “perception of the event — not Ormond’s actual lack of consent — that legally mattered,” according to the complaint.

“They also told Ormond that she could get a lawyer and seek a settlement, but they emphasized that she shouldn’t expect to receive more than $100,000, which they apparently believed was the going rate for being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein,” the lawsuit states. “Lourd and Huvane advised Ormond to consider whether such a settlement was worth it given how much money she was making in film. Finally, they cautioned Ormond that she should not speak to people about what Weinstein had done because he would sue her for libel.”

Even before 1995, Ormond claims CAA knew from other actresses that Weinstein was a sexual predator. She alleges, “For example, in 1994, Mia Kirshner (“Kirshner”) was a 19-year-old actress who starred in a film that had been distributed by Miramax. Her agents at CAA had set up a meeting between Kirshner and Weinstein at her hotel in New York to discuss a potential new Miramax project. But when Weinstein came to her room, he wanted to exchange sex for career opportunity, which she declined to do. Upset and scared, Kirshner reported this interaction to her primary agent at CAA, but she was told that it was pointless to do anything about it.”

Ormond left CAA in 1999 after Lourd and Huvane transferred her to a younger agent following the termination of her deal with Miramax, she says.

The lawsuit also argues that Disney, which bought Miramax in 1993, had a responsibility to stop Weinstein’s sex crimes. Eisner originally delegated oversight of Weinstein to then company chairman Katzenberg, who then passed the duties to marketing and distribution executive Dick Cook. Bill Mechanic, then head of Disney’s international and worldwide video division, was subsequently placed in the role and “identified that Miramax did not follow the law in its human resources practices.”