A lawsuit filed Monday in New York City alleges Hollywood writer-director James Toback is a “serial sexual predator” who has assaulted and abused dozens of women for decades, often saying he wanted to cast them in his films .
The lawsuit, filed in the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan, lists 38 plaintiffs, many of whom have been identified as “Jane Doe.” Fifteen are mentioned by name.
The Harvard Club of New York City, which allegedly Toback “lured” several women, is also named as a defendant.
The everyday beast reported first the suit.
Toback, 78, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter and director whose film credits include “The Pick-Up Artist,” “Bugsy,” and “Tyson,” was accused of sexual misconduct by more than 30 women five years ago in a report by the Los Angeles Times. .
The story was published weeks after The New York Times report on Harvey Weinstein helped spark the MeToo movement.
Los Angeles prosecutors declined to press charges in five of the cases, saying in 2018 that the statute of limitations had expired in all cases. according to Associated Press.
A lawyer who previously represented Toback was not available on Monday. Attempts to reach the writer-director were unsuccessful and it was not clear if he has an attorney or representative to speak on his behalf.
Toback has previously denied the allegations, against Rolling Stone in 2017“The idea that I would offer someone a role for any reason other than that he or she would be the best of everyone I could find is so disgusting to me.”
Attorneys in the suit filed Monday said Toback had a “Modus Operandi” that allegedly included approaching young women on the streets of New York City and showering them with compliments while touting his Hollywood credentials.
Toback was reportedly pitching the women for appearing in an upcoming film and arranging a meeting to discuss the role, the suit says.
Six of the women said their encounters took place at the Harvard Club New York City, a private venue for alumni and faculty, where he allegedly sexually assaulted, assaulted and assaulted the women in the “dining room, hallways, stairwells, bathrooms and hotel rooms “. “
Toback graduated from the school in 1966, according to the suit. A club representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2017, the club terminated Toback’s membership, the lawsuit said.
In some cases cited in the lawsuit, Toback allegedly blocked women from escaping or pursued them as they fled before sexually assaulting them. In several instances, including in the lawsuit, Toback allegedly masturbated in front of the women or on them, and penetrated them without their consent.
Toback then allegedly threatened the women, saying he would ruin their careers if they told anyone about the attacks, telling them he had ties to organized crime groups “and knew people who hurt people,” according to the lawsuit.
The 89-page lawsuit deals with assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. The suit does not specify damages.