Oscar-winner Paul Haggis ordered to pay $7.5 million in civil rape case By Reuters

By Jack Queen

(Reuters) -A New York jury on Thursday discovered Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis accountable for raping a publicist at his Manhattan condominium in 2013, ordering him to pay at the very least $7.5 million in damages within the civil case, an legal professional stated.

The decision got here after a 15-day civil trial in Manhattan state court docket. Plaintiff Haleigh Breest alleged in a 2017 grievance that Haggis, identified for writing the movies “Million Greenback Child” and “Crash,” raped her after presuring her to hitch him at his SoHo loft following a film premier.

Breest was certainly one of 4 girls who publicly accused Haggis of sexual misconduct in 2018. Haggis denied the allegations.

Jurors will return to court docket Monday to weigh punitive damages.

“Justice was finished at the moment,’ Breest’s legal professional Ilann M. Maaze stated in an e mail. “We’re so pleased with Haleigh. It is a nice victory for her and for the whole #MeToo motion.”

Haggis’ legal professional, Priya Chaudhry, stated the trial was not honest as a result of the choose allowed statements from different girls who accused Haggis however by no means took motion towards him.

“They used this to distort the reality, assassinate Mr. Haggis’ character, paint him as a monster, and use a ‘the place there’s smoke, there’s hearth’ technique,” Chaudhry stated in a press release.

In June, Haggis was arrested by Italian authorities and held in custody for greater than two weeks on prices of sexual assault and aggravated private harm. Haggis has denied the allegations.