‘Weinstein Sexual Enterprise’ Complicit in Harassment, Class Action Says

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A new class action lawsuit alleges disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein harassed and/or sexually assaulted hundreds of women and targets his partners and businesses as complicit.

Six women who allege they were victims of Weinstein say they and hundreds of others found themselves on the “proverbial ‘casting couch’” and were subject to unwanted sexual contact, including groping, fondling, and flashing as well as sexual assault and rape. The plaintiffs claim that others in the industry were complicit and even facilitated Weinstein’s behavior for decades.

According to the class action lawsuit, Weinstein was a powerful force in the industry and the plaintiffs feared for their careers if they did not submit to the unwanted advances.

After revelations of extensive allegations of sexual assault and harassment were published, the disgraced producer was hit with a sexual misconduct class action on behalf of actresses allegedly victimized by Weinstein.

This class action casts a wider net, including a network of those in the entertainment industry, lawyers, and journalists who allegedly concealed the abuse and intimidated victims as defendants.

The plaintiffs are also seeking to represent a larger Class, including a nationwide Class of women who met with Weinstein in person regarding projects, along with Miramax and TWC subclasses. The class action complaint details numerous harrowing accounts of women scheduled to meet with Weinstein regarding business affairs who were subjected to harassment, assault, and rape.

“To the extent a woman was ‘lucky’ enough to escape physically unscathed, Weinstein’s behavior (and the fact it was facilitated by TWC and Miramax, the ‘Complicit Producers’) nonetheless caused injury to their business prospects, career, reputation, and severe emotional and physical distress,” allege the plaintiffs.

The class action lawsuit further alleges that a network of complicit parties, including producers and businesses, hid Weinstein’s actions from the public and law enforcement.

“Weinstein’s widespread sexual misconduct did not occur without the help of others,” allege the plaintiffs. “Rather, over time, Weinstein enlisted the aid of the Complicit Producers, along with other firms and individuals, to facilitate and conceal his pattern of unwanted sexual conduct. This coalition of firms and individuals became part of the growing ‘Weinstein Sexual Enterprise,’ a RICO enterprise.”

The class action lawsuit names TWC, TWC’s Board of Directors (including Robert Weinstein, Dirk Ziff, Tim Sarnoff, Marc Lasry, Tarak Ben Ammar, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg, and Paul Tudor Jones – collectively, the “Board”), Weinstein, and Miramax as responsible for either ratifying or concealing Weinstein’s conduct within the scope of their employment.

Further, allege the plaintiffs, a vast network including various companies consisting of a “select group of veterans from the Israeli elite intelligence units that specializes in tailored solutions to complex business and litigation challenges” and other investigators, lawyers and law firms, casting directors and others in the entertainment industry, and a number of journalists would work to “harass, threaten, extort, and mislead both Weinstein’s victims and the media to prevent, hinder and avoid the prosecution, reporting, or disclosure of his sexual misconduct.”

The class action lawsuit labels the network the “Weinstein Sexual Enterprise” and alleges that the network sprang into action after the now 65-year-old producer victimized actresses and other women in the entertainment industry. In addition to intimidating and threatening victims, the network would allegedly destroy any records of the abuse.

The plaintiffs claim that those named as a part of the Weinstein Sexual Enterprise are liable under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The plaintiffs also bring claims of civil battery, assault, and intention and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jason Zweig, Steve W. Berman, Shelby Smith, Elizabeth A. Fegan, Emily Brown, and Robert B. Carey of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and M. Cris Armenta and Credence E. Sol of The Armenta Law Firm APC.

The Weinstein Sexual Enterprise Class Action Lawsuit is Geiss, et al. v. The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC, et al., Case No. 1:17-cv-09554, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE: On Feb. 20, 2018, The Weinstein Company requested that a New York federal judge throw out a class action lawsuit that brings claims against not only Harvey Weinstein, but others, for Weinstein’s misconduct.

UPDATE 2: On Jan. 2, 2019, the women who filed a Harvey Weinstein class action lawsuit want advance notice if any of the emails between them and the accused will be released through bankruptcy court proceedings or other cases.