Attorneys for Harvey Weinstein accusers Wedil David, Dominique Huett, Kaja Sokola, Rowena Chiu, Zelda Perkins and Tarale Wulff filed an opposition document to the proposed settlement Monday.
They said the settlement was a “cruel hoax” in the document, reviewed by TheWrap.
The lawyers said that with the settlement, Weinstein will not accept responsibility for his actions. The settlement, they said, is one-sided and unfair.
They argued that Weinstein, Robert Weinstein and the former directors of The Weinstein Company would not only contribute nothing and be absolved from liability, but would likely collectively take in about $15 million from the proposed settlement agreement. That amount, they argued, would likely be more than the accusers would divide among each other.
Lawyers Douglas H. Wigdor, Kevin Mintzer and Bryan Arbeit said in a joint Monday statement, “As our opposition papers make clear, this is the most one-sided and unfair settlement we have ever seen proposed to a court. Under no set of circumstances should the uber-wealthy former directors, including Harvey and Bob Weinstein, receive more money than a class of rape and sexual assault survivors.”
They went on, “Equally reprehensible are the millions of dollars going to lawyers, corporations and famous actors at the expense of the survivors, while the insurance companies pay pennies on the dollar and Harvey Weinstein himself pays nothing. The efforts being made to prevent women from continuing with their litigation and holding those responsible for their trauma accountable are simply unprecedented. We are heartened by the growing opposition to this settlement and are hopeful that it will be rejected.”