Kevin Spacey ordered to pay $31million to makers of Netflix hit House Of Cards after he was sacked over sex claims
DISGRACED Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey has been ordered to pay $31million (£25.5m) to the makers of axed Netflix show House of Cards after he was sacked over sexual assault claims.
An LA judge on Thursday said Spacey had to repay MRC following losses brought on by his axing in 2017 over alleged sexual harassment of crew members.
Judge Mel Red Recana said the American Beauty actor and his attorney failed to prove this was a "close case" or demonstrate the huge damages being requested "was so utterly irrational that it amounts to an arbitrary remaking of the parties´ contracts".
MRC attorney Michael Kump said his clients were "pleased with the court's ruling".
Spacey - who has - has denied the allegations against him.
The arbitrator who was reviewing the case following a November appeal by Spacey's legal team said the actor had violated his contract.
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According to a filing from MRC lawyers, they said the 63-year-old failed to live up to "professional behaviour" stipulated in his contract the moment he "engaged certain conduct in connection with several crew members in each of the five seasons that he starred in and executive produced House of Cards".
The original filings from MCR, obtained by PA, detailed how Spacey was cut from the hit Netflix show following allegations he was "systematically preying upon, sexually harassing, and groping young men that he had worked with throughout his career on film, television, and theatre projects."
As a result, MRC had to fire Spacey, stop and rewrite the entire sixth season to remove his character and shorten it from 13 to eight episodes to meet looming deadlines, causing tens of millions in losses, according to court documents.
The actor starred in House Of Cards for five seasons, playing the calculating Frank Underwood, before being cut from the show after the allegations surfaced.
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Spacey's attorneys lodged a counter-claim alleging the Pay It Forward actor was axed from the show's sixth season came before a probe into the sexual harassment allegations, therefore making it not part of a contract breach.
They argued his actions were not a substantial factor in the show's losses.
The ruling came after a three-year legal fight and behind-closed-doors hearing to settle the dispute, which was ultimately rejected by a panel of three private arbitrators who upheld it during a November appeal.
The fallen Hollywood star's career came crashing down in late 2017 when allegations of sexual harassment against him began to surface.
The revelations coincided with the ever-vocal and rising #MeToo movement that brought down big Hollywood names, including sex-fiend producer Harvey Weinstein.
It comes shortly after Spacey <a href="//<!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":null} --> <p></p> appeared in a UK court last month to "strenuously" deny further allegations of sexual assault charges dating back 17 years when he was director of the Old Vic theatre in London.
He will appear in court next year.
In 2019, judges dismissed an incident assault and battery charge against the US celeb.
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At the time, an 18-year-old man claimed Spacey groped him at a Nantucket resort.
Spacey is also due to face a civil case to be heard in New York in October 2022, brought by actor Anthony Rapp - Spacey's first public accuser.