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Judge dismisses Rose McGowan's lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein over missed deadline
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A California judge has dismissed Rose McGowan’s lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein after she missed a court-imposed deadline to file paperwork supporting her case.
McGowan, who starred in the television show “Charmed” and movies like “Scream” and “Jawbreaker,” was one of the first women to come forward to accuse Weinstein, now a convicted rapist, of sexual assault.
Her case, which was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act in October 2019, accused Weinstein and his former attorneys of having engaged in racketeering to try to silence her from speaking out about her allegation.
On Monday, state District Judge Otis Wright of Los Angeles said McGowan had been given until last Thursday to file further documents to support her case.
Wright said in a court document that McGowan missed the deadline, making her “unable to sufficiently plead” her case.
Her claims were dismissed “with prejudice,” which means they cannot be brought again.
So far, McGowan does not appear to have spoken out about the development. She terminated her relationship with her attorneys on Nov. 23 during a Zoom meeting, attorney Julie B. Porter said.
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A spokesperson for Weinstein welcomed the news in a statement to NBC News.
“Out of the public glare, with proper time, legal work, evidence and facts, this is the way we believe they ultimately will all go,” the spokesperson said. “A chapter is put behind as Mr. Weinstein keeps going forward to demonstrate the truth.”
McGowan’s lawsuit alleged that Weinstein and his former attorneys conspired to smear, defraud and marginalize her as she prepared to come forward with a rape allegation against Weinstein.
McGowan was named in a report in The New York Times that said that she reached a previously undisclosed settlement with Weinstein in 1997 “after an episode in a hotel room at the Sundance Film Festival.”
A legal document reviewed by The Times said the $100,000 settlement was “not to be construed as an admission” by Weinstein and that it had been intended to avoid litigation and “buy peace.”
Weinstein has issued blanket denials of having had nonconsensual sex with anyone.
McGowan had been tweeting in 2017 that she was preparing to name her alleged rapist in a memoir, “Brave,” which was published the next year.
The lawsuit alleged that the defendants used spies posing as journalists and women’s rights advocates to obtain a copy of the memoir and that they sought to smear her to others in the entertainment industry.
McGowan’s case was partly dismissed in December 2020, but she was allowed to file an amended complaint. The partial dismissal was due to the passing of a statute of limitations and the judge’s ruling that the alleged plot to obtain a copy of her book did not constitute racketeering activity.
Weinstein remains in prison in Los Angeles after he was sentenced to 23 years behind bars on a rape conviction in March 2020.
He also faces trial in connection with additional sexual assault allegations. He pleaded not guilty in September to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault stemming from allegations from five women.
