Harvey Weinstein's Bankruptcy Settlement a Miscarriage of Justice

NEW YORK, July 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Attorney General's Office has announced a proposed settlement that would create a purported compensation fund for the female survivors of Harvey Weinstein. 

We, the law firm Rheingold, Giuffra, Ruffo, & Plotkin LLP, represent Alexandra Canosa. Last night we learned that there is now a proposal to settle the uncertified "class action" that has been filed purportedly on behalf of all victims of Harvey Weinstein.  Based on those reports, we are issuing the following statement:

"The victims of Harvey Weinstein are once again being sacrificed at the expense of those with power and money. This is not justice. The NY AG has made a deal to walk away from the missteps in which survivor's rights have been sacrificed at the expense of headlines.

It has now been forgotten that the NY AG's office scuttled a deal which would have provided the survivors with a $90 Million victims compensation fund in addition to access to TWC insurance assets. The AG's Office is now bragging about a settlement that gets survivors a fraction of what the original agreement provided.   

The agreement is unfair for many reasons. Harvey Weinstein, still a very wealthy man and now a convicted rapist accepts no responsibility for his crimes spanning decades. Despite still retaining substantial wealth, Harvey Weinstein is not contributing a penny to the fund that is intended to compensate the survivors of his criminal behavior.

The ultra-wealthy directors of the Weinstein Company who turned a blind eye to Weinstein's serial abuse of women and attributed it to "Harvey being Harvey", will be receiving millions of dollars to reimburse defense costs as will Harvey Weinstein himself.

If this settlement were approved by the Courts, it will strip those survivors who wish to continue their fight to hold Harvey Weinstein and others accountable of their ability to pursue their claims against multi-billion dollar insurance companies and the enabling directors because they will have been released of all claims even those of survivors who do not wish to participate in the settlement.

Finally, the class action attorneys who have spent most of their time brokering a deal on behalf of an uncertified "class" as opposed to fighting in Court on behalf of victims will receive a multi-million dollar payday. I would note that the "class" attorneys have failed just about every time in Court and their only successes have been based on riding on the coattails of the survivors and their lawyers who have spent time actually fighting in Court on behalf of their clients as opposed to looking for a quick payday.

Our client and others have bravely weathered personal attacks by Weinstein's henchmen with poise and courage to finally bring justice and to try to make a difference in our society. They deserve better than this.  While we support the decision of any other survivor who wishes to accept the terms of this one-sided deal because they are emotionally drained and do not want to continue the fight, Ms. Canosa and our Firm will continue the fight and intend to object to this settlement in Court.

This agreement is nothing more than a complete miscarriage of justice in which those who have survived Harvey Weinstein's personal reign of terror against women and have had the courage to stand up for what is morally right publicly at great personal and emotional expense are once again being sacrificed for those who have power. One would think that at this point in our society that the voice of the little people would finally be heard, and justice obtained. Accountability and restoration are the cornerstones of justice and the New York Attorney General's Office has provided neither with this pyrrhic settlement. 

SOURCE Rheingold, Giuffra, Ruffo, & Plotkin LLP

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