Kevin Spacey was ordered by a judge to pay $31 million to House of Cards producers for costs incurred in his removal from the series after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
After allegations of misconduct with young crew members by the actor from the United States, MRC ordered him to pay them. He has since denied these claims.
Spacey applied to have the arbitration award against the producers reversed.
However, a Los Angeles judge denied his request on Thursday.
MRC argued Spacey owed them millions of lost profits due to his alleged misconduct. Spacey was removed from the sixth season and the number of episodes was cut from 13 to 8.
Spacey’s lawyers tried to get the $31m award thrown away earlier this year. They claimed that Spacey’s behaviour was nothing but “sexual innuendos”, and “innocent horseplay” and did no violation of MRC’s anti-harassment policy.
On Thursday, Judge Mel Red Recana stated that Spacey and his legal teams “fail… to demonstrate that this case is even a close one” and confirmed Spacey would be required to pay the award. The previous award was handed down by an arbitrator in October 2020.
It is believed that the $31m included approximately $29.5 million in damages and $1.5 million in costs and fees.
Michael Kump, MRC attorney, stated that he was pleased with the court’s decision.
MCR’s original filings, which were obtained by the PA news agency, show how Spacey was removed from the hit Netflix political drama series. He was accused of “systematically preying on, sexually harassing and groping young men he had worked alongside throughout his career in film, television and theatre”.
The arbitrator found that Spacey repeatedly violated contractual obligations to provide services in a professional manner, consistent with reasonable instructions, practices, and policies.
Spacey, who was 63 years old, played Frank Underwood, a ruthless politician, for five seasons of House Of Cards before being fired following allegations.
Last month, he appeared at London’s Old Bailey to “strenuously” denied the allegations of sexual assault by three men. These accusations date back to 17 years ago when Spacey was The Old Vic’s artistic director.
The trial will be held in June 2023. A pre-hearing is expected to take place sometime next year.
Spacey will also be facing a civil case brought by Anthony Rapp, his first public accuser.
After being accused of having made sexual advances toward the former child actor, the Hollywood star apologized.