Kevin Spacey Must Pay $31 Million In Damages Over ‘House Of Cards’ Firing, Sexual Misconduct, Confirms Judge

deadline.com:

Kevin Spacey must pay House of Cards producer MRC nearly $31 million for alleged sexual misconduct behind the scenes of the Netflix show, a judge ruled today, saying it was not even a “close case.”Spacey, now 63, played Frank Underwood on House of Cards and was cut from the series after allegations surfaced he sexually preyed on young men.

The accusations, which included the alleged groping of a production assistant, caused MRC to conduct an investigation and ultimately terminate his acting and producing contracts.Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana today confirmed an award handed down previously by an arbitrator in October 2020 in MRC’s favor consisting of some $29.5 million in damages and the remainder in costs and fees.

The arbitrator found that Spacey’s conduct constituted a material breach of his acting and executive producing agreements.Even in a close case, the arbitrator’s award must stand, Judge Recana wrote in his 14-page ruling.“Here, [Spacey] fails to demonstrate that this is even a close case,” the judge said.The judge noted that a November 2017 article on CNN.com contained allegations that Spacey engaged in a pattern of sexually predatory behavior directed at young crew members on the set of House of Cards and that once MRC became aware of the accusations, it suspended the actor, investigated, wrote Spacey out of the show’s final season and ended his acting and executive producing contracts.Spacey attorney Jonathan E.

Phillips argued that the award should be vacated, alleging the arbitrator exceeded the scope of his powers when he considered external evidence in deciding damages.The arbitrator concluded that Spacey breached the agreements through his interactions with five specific crew members,