Kevin Spacey has to pay nearly $30 million in damages to MRC Entertainment, the TV company behind Netflix’s “House of Cards,” for breaching his contract by allegedly sexually harassing young crew members, a Los Angeles ruled judge Thursday.
LA Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana said the decision was “not even a close case,” as he denied a request by Spacey’s attorney to throw out the findings of a court-appointed arbitrator in the case, Deadline reported.
The arbitrator in 2020 found that Spacey materially breached his contract as an actor and producer on the hit show because he allegedly harassed young crew members in a “pattern” of sexual predatory behavior, according to the report.
The “Seven” star was ordered to pay more than $29 million in damages, Deadline reported.
In his challenge to the finding, Spacey attorney Jonathan E. Phillips argued that the arbitrator improperly weighed evidence outside the scope of his powers in coming to the conclusion.
Recana, according to Deadline, wrote in the 14-page ruling that even in close cases the decisions of arbitrators must stand.
“Here, [Spacey] fails to demonstrate that this is even a close case,” the judge said, according to the report.
Spacey, 63, has been dogged for years with sexual misconduct in law suits and in criminal court.
Most recently, the scandal-scarred actor was charged in London with four counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
The charges stem from the years he spent in the early 2000s as a creative director at a theater in the English capital.
He pleaded not guilty and is expected to stand trial on the charges in 2023.
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