Weinstein accuser seeks to set legal
precedent with sex trafficking law
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[November 29, 2017]
By Daniel Trotta
(Reuters) - The lawyer representing Harvey
Weinstein's latest accuser is attempting to set legal precedent by
contending Weinstein's actions overseas make him liable for civil
damages under a criminal law against sex trafficking, five legal experts
said.
British actress Kadian Noble, 31, sued the Hollywood mogul in U.S.
District Court on Monday, accusing him of luring her to his hotel room
in Cannes, France, on the promise of a movie role but instead he forced
himself upon her sexually.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, does not accuse
Weinstein of labor trafficking or other exploitations commonly
associated with the commercial sex industry. But the criminal law on
which the civil claim in based bans the use of force, threat or coercion
for a sex act in exchange for value.
The alleged "value" in this case was the potential for a role in one of
Weinstein's films, according to the complaint. Attorneys interviewed by
Reuters called the lawsuit's application "innovative" and said they
would be watching closely, but expressed mixed views about whether the
approach would work in federal court.
Noble's lawsuit claimed Weinstein promised her a role in a Weinstein
Company project and that he invited her to his hotel room in February
2014 in France on the premise of viewing her show reel, or video
highlights of her acting.
Responding to the lawsuit, Holly Baird, a spokeswoman for Weinstein, on
Monday denied the allegation of non-consensual sex. Baird could not be
reached on Tuesday for comment on the claim that Weinstein violated sex
trafficking laws.
Weinstein and his representatives have also denied the allegations of
more than 50 women who have accused him of sexually harassing or
assaulting them over the past three decades. Reuters has been unable to
confirm the allegations. Noble's case adds another accuser to the list
while also seeking to test the reach of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000, a U.S. law that has been reauthorized or amended
several times, expanding its extraterritorial reach.
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Aspiring British actor Kadian Noble, who has filed a lawsuit against
Harvey Weinstein in New York federal court accusing the movie
producer of sex trafficking by inviting her to a hotel room in
France and sexually assaulting her, appears at a news conference in
New York City, New York, U.S., November 28, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas
Jackson
Kathleen Kim, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Las Angeles,
called the lawsuit a "a sound claim" that was well-crafted.
"The way that this complaint has been framed makes a sound
allegation that the force, fraud or coercion for sex took place in
exchange for value, which was the film role," Kim said.
Paul Callan, a former prosecutor with the Brooklyn District
Attorney's office and attorney at the Edelman & Edelman firm in New
York, was more skeptical, doubting federal courts would accept
Herman's theory of the law and calling it "an example of very
creative lawyering."
"It was a statute intended to punish those who participate in human
sex trafficking," Callan said. "What the lawyers here have done is
they have cherry-picked phrases from that statute in an effort to
prove that Harvey Weinstein's actions in allegedly sexually abusing
the actress fits into that statute."
The plaintiff's lawyer, Jeffrey Herman, said he knew of only one
other case that attempted to use the law in a similar way but it
failed to prove the underlying allegations, meaning the expanded
interpretation of the law went untested.
"Given there is no appellate decision, this would be
precedent-making," Herman said. "I don't think it's a stretch at
all."
(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Additional reporting by Ben Klayman;
Editing by Toni Reinhold)
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