Director James Toback, who was among the first to be singled out in the #MeToo scandal in 2017, was ordered on Wednesday to pay $1.68 billion after a sexual assault trial in New York.
Toback, 80, was accused of abusing his power in the film industry to sexually assault women across four decades. 40 women testified at the seven-day trial, resulting in what their attorneys believe to be the largest sex assault verdict in state history.
“I think this jury spoke loud and clear,” said Brad Beckworth, an attorney for the plaintiffs, saying he had argued that the #MeToo movement had not gone far enough. “We wanted their voice to be heard and to reverberate across the country to tell insiders and people in positions of power that we will not tolerate using that power against women.”
Toback did not attend the trial. Earlier in the case, he issued a blanket denial, including a claim that any sexual activity was consensual. He was acting as his own attorney at the time. He did not show up for pre-trial hearings, leading to a default judgment against him.
Toback did not respond to messages seeking comment on Wednesday.
The six-member jury was convened to decide on damages. After deliberation, the jury awarded $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion in punitive damages.
The attorneys will next have to assess whether Toback has any assets they can pursue.
“We’ll try to recover it, but that’s not the only motivating factor,” said Ross Leonoudakis, another plaintiffs’ attorney. “We saw a unique opportunity to help these survivors seek justice.”
Toback wrote the 1991 film “Bugsy,” and wrote and directed “The Pick-up Artist” and “Two Girls and a Guy.” He was accused of prowling the streets of New York for decades, looking for young women to invite to meetings with the promise of movie offers. He was accused of sexually assaulting them at the Harvard Club and at other locations around New York, including his apartment, his editing studio, and public parks.
The accusers — most now in their 40s and 50s, and some in their early 70s — were allowed to bring the lawsuit under the New York Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year window in which the statute of limitations was suspended for sexual assault. The suit was first filed in December 2022.
Over the course of the trial, 20 women testified in person. Video depositions of another 20 women were also played for the jury.
Mary Monahan, the lead plaintiff, said in a statement that the verdict represents “validation.”
“For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me,” Monahan said. “Believed us. That changes everything. This verdict is more than a number — it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip. The world knows now what we’ve always known: what he did was real. And what we did — standing up, speaking out — was right.”
Karen Sklaire Watson, another plaintiff, said the verdict will make New York safer for women.
“We’re drawing a line in the sand: Predators cannot hide behind fame, money, or power,” she said in a statement. “Not here. Not anymore.”
The plaintiffs initially sued the Harvard Club of New York, arguing the club was negligent in allowing Toback to use it for so many sexual assaults over so many years. The plaintiffs agreed to discontinue the case against the Harvard Club in January 2024.
The L.A. Times first reported allegations against Toback from 38 women on Oct. 22, 2017, just two weeks after the New York Times reported a history of harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein. The report triggered an avalanche of similar allegations against numerous Hollywood figures, as well as new laws protecting sexual assault accusers and making it easier for them to bring lawsuits.
“We’ll try to recover it, but that’s not the only motivating factor,” said Ross Leonoudakis,
