Weinstein Co. Aims to Wrap Up Bankruptcy Case in December, Amid Objections
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An attorney for the Weinstein Co. told a judge on Thursday that he hopes to wrap up the bankruptcy case in December, pending approval of a $46.8 million settlement.
The settlement, announced on June 30, resolves most of the civil litigation surrounding Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct. Under the agreement, $18.9 million would go to claimants in a class action case and their attorneys, and another pool of $5.4 million would be set aside for plaintiffs who filed individual lawsuits. The funds will be paid out of insurance policies.
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The deal still must receive approval from Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is overseeing the class action case, and Judge Mary Walrath, who is handling the Weinstein Co. bankruptcy.
Attorneys Douglas Wigdor and Kevin Mintzer, who represent plaintiffs who have refused to settle, have said that the deal is a “complete sellout” of Weinstein’s survivors, and have said they will vigorously object in court.
Paul Zumbro, an attorney for the Weinstein Co. bankruptcy estate, gave Walrath an update on the settlement in a telephonic hearing on Thursday morning. He conceded that the deal was “by no means perfect,” but said it represented the best compromise that could be achieved. He also laid out the next steps in the class action suit and in the bankruptcy case, and said he aimed to get confirmation of the Weinstein Co. liquidation plan in December.
The Weinstein Co. declared bankruptcy in March 2018, following revelations of decades of Weinstein’s sexual assault and harassment. Lantern Capital, a Dallas private equity firm, bought the company’s assets for $289 million, and subsequently rebranded the firm as Spyglass Media.
The sale proceeds went to the company’s secured lenders, leaving only the insurance policies to pay out Weinstein’s victims. Under the settlement agreement, $7.3 million will go to the company’s unsecured trade creditors.
Another $12.2 million goes to attorneys who defended Harvey Weinstein and the directors and officers of the Weinstein Co.
Wigdor and Mintzer have objected that Weinstein is paying nothing into the settlement, and that the insurance companies will be absolved from covering the claims of the holdout plaintiffs. They also contend that the class action attorneys will be seeking millions in fees for an “objectively unsuccessful result.”
Weinstein is serving a 23-year sentence for rape and sexual assault at Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y.
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