Jury Awards $1.68 Billion to Ladies in Landmark Toback Sexual Abuse Case
New York, NY – April 9, 2025 – A New York jury has delivered a historic verdict, awarding $1.68 billion in damages to 40 ladies who accused author and director James Toback of sexual abuse and associated crimes spanning over three a long time. The choice, introduced on Wednesday, marks one of many largest jury awards within the historical past of the #MeToo motion and New York state, underscoring a robust reckoning for survivors of sexual misconduct.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan in 2022, was made potential by New York’s Grownup Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window for people to carry civil claims for sexual assault, no matter when the incidents occurred. Legal professionals for the plaintiffs, led by Brad Beckworth of Nix Patterson LLP, revealed a disturbing sample of habits by Toback, who allegedly lured younger ladies off the streets of New York with false guarantees of movie roles, solely to topic them to sexual acts, threats, and psychological coercion between 1979 and 2014.
The jury’s award contains $280 million in compensatory damages and a staggering $1.4 billion in punitive damages, reflecting the severity of Toback’s actions and the intent to ship a broader message. “This verdict is about justice,” Beckworth acknowledged. “However extra importantly, it’s about taking energy again from abusers—and their enablers—and returning it to these he tried to regulate and silence.” Mary Monahan, a lead plaintiff, known as the result “validation” after a long time of silence. “At present, a jury believed me. Believed us. That modifications all the things,” she mentioned. “This verdict is a declaration: we aren’t disposable.”
Toback, 80, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for 1991’s Bugsy, noticed his Hollywood profession unravel in 2017 when accusations first surfaced within the Los Angeles Instances amid the #MeToo wave. Although Los Angeles prosecutors declined to file prison prices in 2018 on account of expired statutes of limitations, the New York civil case gained traction after Toback failed to seem in courtroom, prompting a default judgment in January. Final month’s damages trial sealed his monetary destiny.
The case has reignited debate over accountability within the leisure trade. Toback, who has denied the allegations and claimed any encounters had been consensual, didn’t reply to requests for remark. His absence from the authorized proceedings has solely amplified the plaintiffs’ narrative of a predator evading justice—till now.
Authorized consultants see the decision as a milestone. With a profession spanning over 40 years, Toback’s downfall highlights the enduring influence of the #MeToo motion, which continues to empower survivors to hunt redress. For the 40 ladies, the $1.68 billion award—whereas unlikely to be totally collected given Toback’s reported web price—stands as a symbolic triumph, affirming their voices in a system that after silenced them. As Monahan put it, “The world is aware of now what we’ve all the time identified: what he did was actual.”
