Harvey Weinstein said to reach $63.9 million deal to settle lawsuits

Harvey Weinstein and his former studio's board members have reached a tentative $US44 million deal ($63.9 million) to resolve lawsuits by women who accused him of sexual misconduct and the New York state attorney general, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Under the proposed terms, about $US30 million would go to a pool of plaintiffs including alleged victims, creditors of Weinstein's former studio and some former employees, according to the people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the agreement was private.

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The balance would go to legal fees for associates of Weinstein, including board members named as defendants in lawsuits.

Insurance policies would cover the $US44 million if the deal is finalised. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the tentative deal, which must be approved by advisers in charge of the former Weinstein Co.'s bankruptcy proceedings.

Harvey Weinstein did not return calls for comment. A spokeswoman for the office of the New York state attorney general declined to comment.

Lawyers for women who say they were victims of Weinstein have been in mediation since last year with representatives for the former studio mogul.

Also involved in the talks were lawyers for the former board members and the New York attorney general's office, which last year sued Weinstein and his brother and business partner, Bob Weinstein, for violating state and city laws barring gender discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and coercion.

The goal was to reach a settlement that would cover all of the suits pending against the former Hollywood mogul, his now-defunct movie studio and associates.

Harvey Weinstein also faces criminal charges in New York and has pleaded not guilty. The indictment against Weinstein, 67, charges him with raping one woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2013 and forcing another to let him perform oral sex on her at his town house in 2006.

Weinstein, released on $1 million bail, has said the encounters were consensual.

The Weinstein Co., the Hollywood studio founded by Weinstein and his brother, filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 after dozens of women publicly accused Weinstein, its former chief executive, of sexual misconduct and assault dating back decades.

The movie and television studio, once known for Oscar-winning films like The King's Speech and The Artist, had less than $500,000 in cash at the time and was facing a mountain of debt and a swelling number of lawsuits, including the one by New York's attorney general.

The New York Times

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