• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

1

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place

2

MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year

3

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
MPWharvey weinstein

What The Weinstein Company’s Bankruptcy Means For Harvey’s Alleged Victims

By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
David Meyer
David Meyer
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 26, 2018, 5:29 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The impending bankruptcy filing of The Weinstein Company will likely add a major twist to the on-going lawsuits against the company, many of which relate to the alleged sexual misconduct of Harvey Weinstein.

The firm, which produced films such as The King’s Speech and Tulip Fever, revealed late Sunday that it would file for bankruptcy. If it follows through, it will probably have to be removed as a co-defendant in the suits where it is named.

The Weinstein Company fired Weinstein, who co-founded it, after the allegations against the movie mogul emerged in October last year. However, several of the suits resulting from Weinstein’s alleged conduct have since targeted the company, as well as him.

A class action filed in December by actresses such as Louisette Geiss and Katherine Kendall claims that the production company and others enabled Weinstein’s predatory behavior. The company filed a motion to dismiss the suit last week, arguing that Weinstein alone was responsible.

Weinstein’s former personal assistant, Sandeep Rehal, also named The Weinstein Company as a co-defendant when she sued last December, alleging that she had been forced to facilitate his sexual behavior and had herself been a victim of his harassment.

British actress Kadian Noble, who claims that Weinstein assaulted her in Cannes, France, also sued the company along with Weinstein, back in November.

And then there’s the lawsuit from husband-and-wife production team Scott Lambert and Alexandra Milchan, who sued The Weinstein Company over the collapse of a planned Amazon series, which was supposed to be produced by the firm but was scrapped after the scandal broke—the pair said the company must have known the scandal was coming.

And just a few days ago, the Swiss chocolatier Lindt and Sprungli sued The Weinstein Company for $133,333, over the cancellation of a Weinstein Golden Globes party for which it had already shelled out sponsorship money.

All these plaintiffs now face a problem, in part, brought about by yet another lawsuit.

The Weinstein Company is out of cash, and it had been hoping to sell itself for $500 million in order to stay afloat. But then, earlier this month, New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman launched a civil rights lawsuit against the firm (and Weinstein himself) for violating gender discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual abuse and coercion laws.

The suit explicitly said that any sale must see Weinstein’s victims compensated. And it seems that the sale—to an investor group led by former Small Business Administration head Maria Contreras-Sweet—has now fallen through.

In a letter to Contreras-Sweet on Sunday, The Weinstein Company said that last week the investors asked the company to work with them as partners “toward the common goal of saving the Company, preserving jobs and establishing a victims’ fund.”

The firm said this would have required urgent interim funding to stop it from going under, but this had not appeared. “Instead, you increased the liabilities left behind for the Company, charting a financial path that will fail,” The Weinstein Company said, alleging other failures on the investors’ part.

“While we deeply regret that your actions have led to this unfortunate outcome for our employees, our creditors and any victims, we will now pursue the Board’s only viable option to maximize the Company’s remaining value: an orderly bankruptcy process.”

In general, bankruptcies effectively end lawsuits against the company going bust—the New York attorney general’s suit would be an exception here, as it is a law enforcement suit. As soon as a company files for bankruptcy, the suits seeking damages are suspended. The only way plaintiffs can continue the suit is to demonstrate that the bankruptcy was filed for in bad faith, for example by proving that the firm had no other liabilities.

With The Weinstein Company reportedly in debt to the tune of $520 million (as calculated back in November), that probably means those suing the production firm will get no money from it.

That said, many of the suits named The Weinstein Company as a co-defendant. With the other co-defendants including Harvey Weinstein himself and, in the class action, his brother Bob Weinstein and their former production company Miramax, the plaintiffs may potentially still see a payout.

This article was updated to clarify that the New York AG’s suit would go ahead, bankruptcy notwithstanding.

About the Author
By David Meyer
LinkedIn icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

MacKenzie Scott (left); Elon Musk (right)
SuccessMacKenzie Scott
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: ‘Sadly,’ it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
9 hours ago
swisher
Politicspodcasts
‘Podcasts are the NBA’: Scott Galloway on Kara Swisher’s big success — ‘there’s a small amount of people making a lot of money’
By Steven Sloan and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
11 hours ago
np
PoliticsColleges and Universities
Nancy Pelosi brings her legendary congressional knowhow to a new Berkeley institute with $35 million in funding
By Kevin Freking and The Associated PressJune 29, 2026
11 hours ago
Illustration of a bomb with the Bitcoin logo printed on it, against an orange background.
CryptoCryptocurrency
Bitcoin down 20% since May as Strategy fallout spooks investors
By Camila Grigera NaónJune 26, 2026
3 days ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America’s $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
SuccessMacKenzie Scott
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America’s $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
5 days ago
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
North AmericaMedia
‘We are in agony’: Today Show host Savannah Guthrie begs public for help as reports surface her missing 84-year-old mom might be dead
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
5 days ago

Most Popular

Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
Success
Elon Musk on MacKenzie Scott giving away $26 billion of her fortune: 'Sadly,' it makes the world a worse place
By Sydney LakeJune 29, 2026
9 hours ago
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
Success
MacKenzie Scott alone accounted for one-third of America's $19.2 billion in megagifts last year
By Sydney LakeJune 25, 2026
5 days ago
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
Success
Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster
By Preston ForeJune 27, 2026
3 days ago
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
Environment
The retired college professor fighting a $313 trespassing ticket in Wisconsin thinks he's part of a national struggle
By Catherina GioinoJune 28, 2026
2 days ago
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
Success
Ex-Google engineer says Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Sundar Pichai share the same trait—it's the lesson he swears by as a $7.2 billion AI CEO
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 28, 2026
2 days ago
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
Success
Cristiano Ronaldo is soccer's first-ever billionaire: He went from begging for burgers outside McDonald's to landing a $400 million contract
By Preston ForeJune 28, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.