Disney, CAA Fail to Dismiss Julia Ormond’s Harvey Weinstein Assault Suit

Disney, CAA, and Miramax lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Julia Ormond, who claimed the companies failed to protect her from Harvey Weinstein, now imprisoned.

“The complaint sufficiently alleges that CAA failed to protect the plaintiff from Weinstein, failing to warn her of his alleged reputation while negotiating the production company agreement between the plaintiff and Miramax, and later arranging the dinner meeting between the plaintiff and Weinstein,” stated the court’s ruling, according to The Los Angeles Times. At the time of the alleged incident, Disney owned Miramax.

The actress, who gained fame with the 1994 film Legends of the Fall along with Brad Pitt, and 1995’s First Knight featuring Richard Gere and Sean Connery, filed a lawsuit in October last year. She claimed Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him in December 1995. Ormond asserted that after informing her CAA agents — Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane — about the incident, they discouraged her from speaking out and offered no assistance. Although Lourd and Huvane were mentioned in the complaint, they were not listed as defendants.

In a statement, Ormond expressed that she had lived for decades with “the painful memories” of her experiences with Harvey Weinstein. She thanked those who had spoken out before her, stating their “courage and the Adult Survivors Act” provided her with a “window of opportunity” to reveal how powerful individuals and institutions like her talent agents at CAA, Miramax, and Disney enabled and covered for Weinstein’s actions.

Previously, CAA denied her allegations as “completely without merit,” claiming that they had retained attorney Loretta Lynch and her law firm, Paul Weiss, who found no evidence supporting Ormond’s claims against CAA.

Representatives for CAA, Disney, and Miramax did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s requests for comment, nor did representatives for Ormond or Weinstein.

In February 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of criminal sexual assault in the first degree and rape in the third degree in a separate trial. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison based on testimonies from Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann. However, Weinstein has maintained his innocence.

The conviction was later overturned in April by the New York State Court of Appeals. The majority of judges agreed that Justice James M. Burke, who oversaw Weinstein’s trial, should not have allowed testimonies from accusers whose allegations were not part of the formal charges.

Source: Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times