Kevin Spacey and his production companies must pay the studio behind 鈥淗ouse of Cards鈥� more than $30 million because of losses brought on by his firing for sexual misconduct, according to an arbitration decision made final Monday.
A document filed in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting a judge鈥檚 approval of the ruling says that the arbitrators found that Spacey violated his contract鈥檚 demands for professional behavior by 鈥渆ngaging certain conduct in connection with several crew members in each of the five seasons that he starred in and executive produced House of Cards.鈥�
MRC, the studio behind 鈥淗ouse of Cards,鈥� had to fire Spacey, halt production of the show鈥檚 sixth season, rewrite it to remove Spacey鈥檚 central character, and shorten it from 13 to eight episodes to meet deadlines, resulting in tens of millions in losses, the document said.
鈥淭he safety of our employees, sets and work environments is of paramount importance to MRC and why we set out to push for accountability,鈥� MRC said in a statement Monday.
A representative for Spacey did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. His attorneys argued that the actor鈥檚 actions were not a substantial factor in the show鈥檚 losses.
The ruling came after a legal fight of more than three years and an eight-day evidentiary hearing that was kept secret from the public, along with the rest of the dispute.
Spacey appealed the decision to a panel of three more private arbitrators, who found for the plaintiffs, making the decision final, and public, on Monday.
鈥淢RC stood its ground, pursued this case doggedly, and obtained the right result in the end,鈥� plaintiff鈥檚 attorney Michael Kump said in a statement.
The 62-year-old Oscar winner鈥檚 career came to an abrupt halt late in 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained momentum.
Actor Anthony Rapp, who has appeared in 鈥淩ent鈥� on Broadway and film as well as in 鈥淪tar Trek: Discovery鈥� on television, said Spacey made a sexual advance on him when he was 14 at a party in the 1980s.
At the time, Spacey issued a statement saying he didn鈥檛 remember the encounter but apologized.
followed. Some, , have .
Independent investigations found widespread sexual harassment of those who worked under him.
Spacey was fired or removed from several projects, most notably 鈥淗ouse of Cards,鈥� the Netflix political thriller where for five seasons he played lead character Frank Underwood, a power-hungry congressman who becomes president.
The one criminal case brought against him, an indecent assault and battery charge stemming from the alleged groping of an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket resort, in 2019.
鈥擜ndrew Dalton, The Associated Press
