Kevin Spacey has lost a bid to overturn a court ruling that ordered him to pay $31 million to the studio behind the Netflix series House of Cards, a judge has ruled. The 63-year-old had filed to overturn the court’s decision after arbitrators found that Spacey violated the professional conduct requirements of his contract by “engaging in conduct in relation to multiple crew members” in each of the five seasons he was on. Spacey played politician Frank Underwood on House of Cards for five seasons, but was written off in the sixth and final season following accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against the actor, which he vehemently denied. On Thursday, Los Angeles County Judge Mel Red Recana released her decision according to Rolling Stone and wrote: “Respondents have failed to establish that this is even a close case. Defendants fail to demonstrate that the award of damages was so completely unreasonable as to amount to an arbitrary renegotiation of the parties’ contracts. “Respondents have not established that the arbitrator acted beyond his authority within the scope of the parties’ arbitration agreements.” The American beauty actor was in the middle of filming the sixth season of the popular show when an article was published alleging that he engaged in “predatory” behaviour. Kevin, 63, famously played Frank Underwood in five seasons of House of Cards (Image: Netflix) Spacey was fired from House of Cards by MRC while filming the sixth and final season (Image: Rex Features) Spacey’s departure from the show, in which he played the title character, reportedly took a heavy toll on House of Cards producer MRC, as it had to make script revisions and cut the season down to eight episodes. Judge Recana said: “Netflix’s action was caused by the defendant’s conduct and because of the conduct, which was a breach of contract, (MRC) incurred costs and expenses. Therefore, it must be based on a rational way.’ MRC’s lawyer said: “We are pleased with the court’s decision.” Spacey is ordered to pay $29.5 million in restitution, $1.2 million in attorneys’ fees and $235,707 to the MRC. The actor has faced a number of legal issues in recent years (Image: Rex Features) After MRC filed suit against him, Spacey countersued, arguing that the production company had wrongfully terminated his contract and breached its “pay or play” obligations under the agreement, and that the allegations against him were not a significant factor in the studio losses. The court then released its ruling in November 2021 that Spacey would have to pay the damages. Spacey is currently facing sexual assault charges in London, to which he pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey in July. He had previously strongly denied the accusations made against him by three men, who are now in their 30s and 40s. The Hollywood actor, who is on unconditional bail, appeared in court in person to plead not guilty and was told his trial will begin on June 6, 2023 and is expected to last between three and four weeks.
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He faces four counts of sexual assault and one count of causing penetrative sexual activity without consent. The alleged offenses are alleged to have taken place in London and Gloucestershire between 2005 and 2013, during Spacey’s time as artistic director of the Old Vic theater in London. Do you have a story? If you have a celebrity story, video or photos, please contact Metro.co.uk’s entertainment team by emailing us at [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or visiting the Submit information page – I’d love to hear from you you.
