Harvey Weinstein Faces First Civil Suit Over Sexual Assault In The UK
Harvey Weinstein is facing a civil suit in the UK by a woman who alleges that the movie mogul sexually assaulted her in London. The suit marks the first civil case against The Weinstein Company founder and comes as he is facing a Scotland Yard investigation after eight women made formal allegations.
Jill Greenfield, partner at London law firm Fieldfisher and Head of the company’s Serious Injury Sector, has filed the suit in the UK’s High Court on behalf of a female film executive, who does not wish to be named. It is believed that the woman has not yet reported the incident to UK police, which are currently investigating the allegations against Weinstein through Operation Kaguyak.
The civil claim has been made against Weinstein as well as The Weinstein Company and The Weinstein Company UK and has been filed as damages for personal injury, expenses, consequential loss including aggravated and exemplary damages and interest arising out of a series of sexual assaults inflicted on the claimant by the defendant.
Greenfield confirmed the civil case to Deadline and said that it is expected to reach over £300,000 ($224,000), adding that she would “not be surprised if a group action against the film producer followed”.
Greenfield recently said that if the criminal courts “fail” Weinstein’s victims, the UK civil courts could “step in.” Writing on her company’s website, she added: “The level of collective determination to evoke societal change demonstrated by the victims of alleged assault by Weinstein must not be allowed to falter because the US prosecutors fail to pursue a criminal case because of the lack of witnesses to the charges. If the US prosecutors balk at the enormity of what they must do, the civil court in the UK, may offer Weinstein’s alleged British victims some hope of recognition and justice.”
Weinstein denies allegations of non-consenual sex.
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