Kevin Spacey and his production companies must pay the studio behind "House of Cards" more than $30 million because of losses brought on by his firing for sexual misconduct, according to an arbitration decision made final Monday.
A document filed in Los Angeles Superior Court requesting a judge's approval of the ruling says that the arbitrators found that Spacey violated his contract's demands for professional behavior by "engaging certain conduct in connection with several crew members in each of the five seasons that he starred in and executive produced House of Cards."
MRC, the studio behind "House of Cards," had to fire Spacey, halt production of the show's sixth season, rewrite it to remove Spacey's central character, and shorten it from 13 to eight episodes to meet deadlines, resulting in tens of millions in losses, the document said.
Spacey's attorneys argued that the actor's actions were not a substantial factor in the show's losses.
The ruling came after a legal fight of more than three years and an eight-day evidentiary hearing that was kept secret from the public, along with the rest of the dispute.
The 62-year-old Oscar winner's career came to an abrupt halt late in 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained momentum.
Actor Anthony Rapp, who has appeared in "Rent" on Broadway and film as well as in "Star Trek: Discovery" on television, said Spacey made a sexual advance on him when he was 14 at a party in the 1980s. At the time, Spacey issued a statement saying he didn't remember the encounter but apologized. Several other accusers followed. Some, including Rapp, have filed lawsuits. Independent investigations found widespread sexual harassment of those who worked under him.
Spacey was fired or removed from several projects, most notably "House of Cards," the Netflix political thriller where for five seasons he played lead character Frank Underwood.
The one criminal case brought against him, a charge of indecent assault and battery stemming from the alleged groping of an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket resort, was dismissed by Massachusetts prosecutors in 2019.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
