National Roundup

California
Kevin Spacey ordered to pay $31M for ‘House of Cards’ losses
LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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.

“The safety of our employees, sets and work environments is of paramount importance to MRC and why we set out to push for accountability,” MRC said in a statement Monday.

A representative for Spacey did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. His 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.

Spacey appealed the decision to a panel of three more private arbitrators, who found for the plaintiffs, making the decision final, and public, on Monday.

“MRC stood its ground, pursued this case doggedly, and obtained the right result in the end,” plaintiff’s attorney Michael Kump said in a statement.

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, a power-hungry congressman who becomes president.

The one criminal case brought against him, an indecent assault and battery charge stemming from the alleged groping of an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket resort, was dismissed by Massachusetts prosecutors in 2019.

Massachusetts
Gun makers ask court to dismiss Mexican lawsuit
BOSTON (AP) — Gun manufacturers asked a federal court in Massachusetts on Monday to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Mexico’s government in August arguing that U.S. gun manufacturers and distributors fueled violence in Mexico through their negligent and illegal commercial practices.

Gun maker Beretta U.S.A. Corp. argued there is no basis for the court to exercise jurisdiction over Beretta in the case.

“Plaintiff is the government of Mexico. Beretta is a Maryland corporation with its corporate home, headquarters, and principal place of business in Maryland. And the harm for which Plaintiff seeks redress all occurred in Mexico,” the company wrote in a document filed with the court Monday.

Other gun manufacturers — including Smith & Wesson, Colt’s Manufacturing, Glock Inc., and Sturm, Ruger & Co. — also sought to have the suit dismissed.

Another defendant is Interstate Arms, a Boston-area wholesaler that sells guns from all but one of the named manufacturers to dealers around the U.S.

The Mexican government has argued  the companies know their practices contribute to the trafficking of guns to Mexico and facilitate it. The government demanded a number of changes in how the companies do business, and compensation for the costs of the violence.

Mexico’s government estimates 70% of the weapons trafficked to Mexico come from the U.S., according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and that in 2019 alone, at least 17,000 homicides were linked to trafficked weapons.

Beretta argued the Mexican government’s case is thin, saying no factual allegations in Mexico’s complaint connect Beretta’s lawful sales in Massachusetts to the financial and economic harm the Mexican government claims to have suffered in its own country,

“Plaintiff does not allege that the criminals in Mexico used, received, or purchased the fire­arms that Beretta sold in Massachusetts,” the company argued.

On Monday, Alejandro Celorio, a legal adviser in the ministry, said via Twitter that their legal team would analyze the manufacturers’ responses. Mexico has until Jan. 31 to file its own formal response.

“Today litigation is not won, nor lost,” Celorio wrote.

The filing came on the same day Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard told the United Nations Security Council that the U.N. must do more because efforts so far to control the trafficking of small arms was “insufficient.”

Mexico currently holds the council’s rotating presidency.

“The private actors must contribute with decisive actions of self-regulation and monitoring of their distribution chains to avoid the diversion and illicit trafficking of the guns they produce and sell, as well as assure that those that they sell under the law do not get into criminal hands,” Ebrard said.


Massachusetts
Prime Automotive settles lawsuit for $30 million
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts-based Prime Automotive Group has signed a $30 million settlement with ex-CEO David Rosenberg, who was fired after raising concerns about financial wrongdoing.

The settlement last week cleared the way for Group 1 Automotive Inc. of Houston to purchase Prime Automotive from New York-based GPB Capital Holdings for $880 million, The Portland Press Herald reported  Monday.

Prime Automotive Group has 30 dealerships and three collision centers in the Mid Atlantic and New England.

After his firing, Rosenberg moved to sell his shares in the company, but filed suit in Massachusetts alleging he wasn’t fully compensated for the sale.

GPB Capital’s chief executive has been arrested and charged with defrauding investors, and GPB also faces civil lawsuits.

Prime Automotive faced pressure from car manufacturers like Toyota and Volkswagen, which threatened to pull their franchise agreements unless the dealerships were sold or Rosenberg rehired.