A New York jury on Monday ordered Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Paul Haggis to pay $2.5 million in civil punitive damages for raping a publicist in his residence in 2013, for a mixed verdict of $10 million within the case.
The decision got here after the identical jury on Thursday discovered Haggis accountable for sexual assault within the civil case and ordered him to pay plaintiff Haleigh Breest $7.5 million in compensatory damages.
Breest alleged in her 2017 lawsuit that Haggis lured her to his SoHo residence after a movie premiere and raped her. Breest was considered one of 4 girls who publicly accused Haggis of sexual misconduct in 2017 and 2018.
Haggis denied the allegations and was by no means criminally charged in the US.
Breest’s lawyer, Ilann Maazel, informed reporters outdoors the New York Metropolis courtroom on Monday that justice had been performed.
Haggis mentioned the case has ruined him financially however vowed to attraction.
“I’ll die clearing my identify,” he mentioned.
Haggis, recognized for movies together with “Crash” and “Million Greenback Child,” testified on Monday that he made as a lot as $25 million all through his movie profession however can’t afford the judgment towards him after racking up thousands and thousands of {dollars} in authorized prices.
Maazel mentioned throughout his closing arguments on Monday that Haggis ought to pay hefty punitive damages for his “chilly, calculated and premeditated” conduct.
“The one individual he feels sorry for is himself,” Maazel mentioned.
In June, Haggis was arrested by Italian authorities and held in custody for greater than two weeks on prices of sexual assault and aggravated private damage. Haggis denied the allegations, and his lawyer Michele Laforgia later informed the Italian information company Ansa that the costs had been dropped.