Kevin Spacey has been ordered to pay nearly $31 million to House of Cards producers MRC after violating their sexual harassment policy.
MRC ended its professional relationship with Spacey in 2017 after the actor was accused of inappropriate sexual behavior by several people, BBC News reports.
The production company filed the confidential mediation demand in 2019, in a desperate bid to recoup the costs of scrapping an entire season of the show due to the allegations against Spacey.
However, Spacey was quick to file a counterclaim as he accused MRC of wrongfully terminating his contract.
An eight-day arbitration hearing later took place with the arbitrator ruling in favor of MRC.
"With one exception, the arbitrator found the third party witnesses to be credible, and found the allegations against Spacey to be true. The award finds that Spacey’s conduct at issue in connection with the testifying crew members was in breach of both the acting and executive producing agreements," the petition states.
Per The Guardian, MRC said in a statement: "The safety of our employees, sets, and work environments is of paramount importance to MRC and why we set out to push for accountability."
Spacey's attorneys argued that his actions were not a substantial factor in the show’s losses.
Spacey appealed against the decision to a panel of three more private arbitrators, who found for the plaintiffs, making the decision final, and public, on Monday, November 22.
"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 Oscar winner's career came to an abrupt halt late in 2017 as the #MeToo movement gained momentum. Spacey was suspended from House of Cards in November that year following multiple accusations of sexual assault.
Among the allegations were those from actor Anthony Rapp, who alleged that Spacey made sexual advances to him when he was 14.
Last year, Rapp sued Spacey for sexual assault, sexual battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Spacey issued a statement saying he did not remember the encounter, but that he owed Rapp "the sincerest apology for what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior".
In the statement, Spacey also revealed he would now live as a gay man. He was criticized for linking his apology for alleged predatory behavior with his homosexuality.
