Elizabeth A. Fegan, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, Emily R. Brown, Whitney K. Siehl, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, Maria Cristina Armenta, The Armenta Law Firm, San Diego, CA, Robert Bruce Carey, Hagens, Berman, Sobol, Shapiro, LLP, Phoenix, AZ, Shelby Smith, Steve W. Berman, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Seattle, WA, Jason Allen Zweig, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs Louisette Geiss, Katherine Kendall, Zoe Brock, Sara Ann Thomas, Melissa Sagemiller, Nannette Klatt.
Whitney K. Siehl, Elizabeth A. Fegan, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff Jane Doe.
Whitney K. Siehl, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Chicago, IL, Elizabeth A. Fegan, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Berkeley, CA, for Plaintiffs Nannette May, Melissa Thompson, Caitlin Dulany, Larissa Gomes.
Gerald Leonard Maatman, Jr., Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Chicago, IL, Karen Yasmine Bitar, Lorie Elizabeth Almon, Scott Roblan Rabe, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, New York, NY, Lynn A. Kappelman, Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Boston, MA, for Defendant The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC.
Laura R. Washington, Marvin S. Putnam, Latham & Watkins LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendant Miramax Film NY, LLC.
Mary E. Flynn, Aaron Michael Schue, Morrison Cohen, LLP, Brian Pete, Elior Daniel Shiloh, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, New York, NY, Phyllis Kupferstein, Kupferstein Manuel LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendant Harvey Weinstein.
Abigail Flynn Coster, Barry A. Bohrer, Gary Stein, Brian Theodore Kohn, Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant Robert Weinstein.
Lawrence Steve Spiegel, Abigail Elizabeth Davis, Ashly Nikkole Davis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant Dirk Ziff.
Laura R. Washington, Joshua Garrett Hamilton, Marvin S. Putnam, Latham & Watkins LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendant Tim Sarnoff.
Brad Scott Karp, Roberto Finzi, Sara Francis Nichols, Daniel Martin Stone, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison L.L.P, New York, NY, for Defendant Marc Lasry.
Kathleen Ann Jorrie, Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps LLP, Jeffrey David Wexler, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Matthew David Stockwell, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant Tarak Ben Ammar.
Israel David, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants Lance Maerov, Jeff Sackman.
John Christian Scalzo, Jonathan Peter Gordon, Reed Smith LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant Richard Koenigsberg.
Daniel Seth Ruzumna, Alejandro Hari Cruz, James Vincent Masella, III, Melissa Rae Ginsberg, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant Paul Tudor Jones.
Brett Thomas Perala, John Jacob Rosenberg, Rosenberg & Giger, P.C., Lawrence Steve Spiegel, Abigail Elizabeth Davis, Ashly Nikkole Davis, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant James Dolan.
Evan R. Chesler, Joe Wesley Earnhardt, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants the Walt Disney Company, Disney Enterprises, Inc., Buena Vista International, Inc., Michael Eisner.
Douglas Eric Grover, Jeffrey M. Eilender, Richard Henry Dolan, Schlam Stone & Dolan LLP, Jolene Frederique LaVigne-Albert, Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant David Glasser.
Paul W. Ryan, Silvia L. Serpe, Serpe Ryan LLC, New York, NY, for Defendant Mark Gill.
Allison Noel Angel, Helene Rachel Hechtkopf, Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant Nancy Ashbrooke.
Robert Marc Barta, Daniel Y. Simkin, Rosoff, Schiffres & Barta, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendant Barbara Schneeweiss.
ORDER AND OPINION DENYING IN PART AND GRANTING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS
ALVIN K. HELLERSTEIN, U.S.D.J.:
This action by ten plaintiffs—Zoe Brock, Caitlin Dulany, Louisette Geiss, Larissa Gomes, Katherine Kendall, Nannette Klatt, Melissa Sagemiller, Sarah Ann Thomas, Melissa Thompson, and Jane Doe—individually and on behalf of a class, against Harvey Weinstein ("H. Weinstein"), his former companies, and certain officers and directors of those companies, charges that H. Weinstein sexually harassed and assaulted them between 1993 and 2011, and that the other defendants knew of, facilitated, and covered up his misconduct. Defendants move to dismiss.
The First Amended Complaint ("FAC") contains eighteen counts, including four federal claims for violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act ("TVPA") (Counts I and II) and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") (Counts V and VI), and fourteen state claims for negligent supervision and retention (Counts III and IV), battery (Counts VII and VIII), assault (Counts IX and X), false imprisonment (Counts XI and XII), intentional infliction of emotional distress (Counts XIII and XIV), negligent infliction of emotional distress (Counts XV and XVI), and ratification (Counts XVII and XVIII). The state law claims fall into two categories: (i) allegations against Miramax Film NY LLC ("Miramax"); The Walt Disney Company, Disney Enterprises, Inc., Buena Vista International, Inc. (together, "Disney"); and certain officers of these companies (together with Miramax and Disney, the "Miramax Defendants") for conduct occurring before September 30, 2005; and (ii) allegations against The Weinstein Company Holdings, LLC ("TWC") and certain officers and directors of TWC (together with TWC, the "TWC Defendants") for conduct occurring after September 30, 2005.
Defendants move to dismiss under Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (ECF Nos. 199, 239, 241, 246, and 254). For the reasons discussed below, H. Weinstein's motion to dismiss the TVPA claim against him (Count I) is denied. All other claims (Counts II-XVIII) are dismissed against all defendants, including H. Weinstein: the TVPA participation claims (Count II) fail to allege receipt of a benefit from participation in sex trafficking, the RICO claims (Counts V and VI) fail to allege injury to business or property caused by a RICO violation, and the state law claims (Counts III, IV, VII-XVIII) are untimely under the applicable statutes of limitations.
H. Weinstein and his brother, Robert Weinstein ("R. Weinstein"), co-founded Miramax in the late 1970s. FAC ¶ 60. Miramax grew from a small film-distribution company to become, by 1989, "the most successful independent [film] studio in America." Id. at ¶ 60. In 1993, the Weinstein brothers sold Miramax to Disney for $ 80 million and retained their leadership of Miramax following the acquisition. Id. at ¶ 61. Miramax released its first blockbuster film, Pulp Fiction , in 1994. Id. at ¶ 61. Many of the company's subsequent films achieved great commercial and critical success. Id. at ¶ 62.
On September 30, 2005, the Weinstein brothers left Miramax and Disney. Id. at ¶ 63. Their new company, TWC, had its own run of major film and television successes. See FAC, Ex. A. In the wake of the revelations concerning H. Weinstein's alleged misconduct, TWC filed for bankruptcy. FAC ¶ 758.
H. Weinstein's success put him among the most powerful and influential executives in the entertainment industry. Id. at ¶ 10. That power and influence included the "ability to make or break ... careers," which he allegedly used to abuse and silence numerous young women who sought his help in advancing their careers. Id. at ¶ 65.
On October 5, 2017, The New York Times published an article revealing multiple allegations of sexual harassment against H. Weinstein. Id. at ¶ 11. In the wake of the article's publication, four TWC board members resigned and the board voted to terminate H. Weinstein's services. Id. at ¶¶ 433-437. Subsequent reporting, most notably in The New York Times and The New Yorker , described a pattern of sexual assaults and cover-ups by H. Weinstein, assisted or condoned by members of his inner circle.
Plaintiffs allege that H. Weinstein's "predatory and sexually harassing behavior toward women," id. at ¶ 84, followed a consistent pattern: H. Weinstein set up meetings with women under the guise of assisting them with their careers, isolated them after they had arrived for the meetings, and assaulted, battered, or attempted to assault them. Id. at ¶¶ 89-91. H. Weinstein allegedly threatened and/or caused harm to the careers of women who refused his advances, including by having them "blacklisted." The FAC further alleges that certain employees of Miramax, Disney, and TWC had knowledge of and, in some cases, facilitated or covered up Weinstein's misconduct.
Six plaintiffs—Katherine Kendall, Nannette Klatt, Caitlin Dulany, Zoe Brock, Larissa Gomes, and Melissa Sagemiller (together, the "Miramax Subclass")—allege that H. Weinstein assaulted them during his time at Miramax (1993 to 2005).1 Four plaintiffs—Louisette Geiss, Sarah Ann Thomas, and Melissa Thompson (together, the "TWC Subclass") allege that H. Weinstein assaulted them during his time at TWC (2005 to 2017), with the most recent assault alleged to have occurred in 2011.
1. Nannette Klatt
In 1993 or 1994, Klatt had an interview for an audition on the first floor of a building also occupied by Miramax. FAC ¶ 93. H. Weinstein walked past the room where Klatt was interviewing and asked her interviewer to step outside. Id. at ¶ 94. The interviewer returned and told Klatt that H. Weinstein wanted to meet with her in his office about a role in a film he was working on. Id. at ¶ 95. At their meeting that night, H. Weinstein had Klatt read from a script, told her she would get the part, and told her he might have other projects for her as well. Id. at ¶...
