U.S. bankruptcy judge okays Weinstein Co plan paying $17 million for sex abuse claims

REUTERS

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge on Monday approved The Weinstein Co’s liquidation plan, which sets aside $17 million for women who accused co-founder Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct.

Insurers have contributed $35 million under the plan, so holders of sexual misconduct claims will get almost half of that. The Weinstein Co’s lawyers say the women who filed the claims could each see six-figure recoveries. They will have the option to forgo most of their payout under the plan if they want to continue pursuing their claims against Harvey Weinstein and former officers and directors of the company. read more »

Apollo C.E.O. to Step Down After Firm Finds More Payments to Jeffrey Epstein

NEW YORK TIMES

The founders of Apollo Global Management, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms, engaged in a brief power struggle this weekend over control of the firm, a rift that opened up after an inquiry revealed that one founder — Apollo’s chief executive and chairman, Leon Black — had paid more than $150 million to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

On Monday, Mr. Black announced his plan to step down as chief executive this year. “I have advised the Apollo board that I will retire as C.E.O. on or before my 70th birthday in July and remain as chairman,” he said in a statement. read more »

Jeffrey Epstein's ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell seeks dismissal of charges

NEW ZEALAND HERALD

Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite charged with recruiting teenage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse in the 1990s, asked a judge today to dismiss the case against her on multiple grounds, including that a deal years ago not to prosecute Epstein and others should shield her from prosecution.

Lawyers for Maxwell said the indictment against their client was obtained unjustly and doesn't allege crimes specific enough to bring before a jury. But they listed first among 12 separate arguments attacking the indictment that a non-prosecution deal Epstein reached with the federal government a dozen years ago should shield Maxwell from prosecution too. read more »

Boy Scouts’ Liability Insurers Challenge Sex-Abuse ‘Claim-Mining’

WALL STREET JOURNAL

The Boy Scouts of America’s liability insurers threw doubt on the huge increase in sex-abuse claims filed against the youth organization after it filed for bankruptcy, claiming that plaintiffs’ attorneys and for-profit claims generators helped gin up tens of thousands of claims with little or no vetting.

In Friday court filings, insurers affiliated with Chubb Ltd. and Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. point to messaging such as an email sent in November by the law firm Junell & Associates PLLC, telling clients that “time is quickly running out” to meet a court-designated deadline and that lawyers “can complete a claim form on your behalf,” based on information from an initial phone consultation. Some attorneys, including a managing partner from Junell, signed hundreds of claims in a single day, the insurers said, and others appear to have signed forms attesting to their truthfulness before they were even filled out. read more »

Seoul city apologizes over ex-mayor's sexual harassment

THE KOREA HERALD

The Seoul city government apologized Tuesday after the state human rights watchdog deemed the sexual harassment allegations against former Mayor Park Won-soon to be true.

In a statement, acting Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup said the city government "humbly accepts" the results of the National Human Rights Commission's investigation into Park's alleged abuse of a secretary, which lasted several years until his death in an apparent suicide in July. read more »