Director James Toback has been ordered to pay $1.68 billion in damages to dozens of women who accused him of sexual assault. The verdict was handed down on Wednesday and is believed to be the largest ever awarded in a sexual assault case in New York state.

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Largest sexual assault damages in state history

Throughout a seven-day trial, forty women took the stand and shared harrowing accounts of manipulation, coercion, and abuse that spanned more than forty years. "We wanted their voice to be heard and to reverberate across the country to tell insiders and people in positions of power that we will not tolerate using that power against women," said Brad Beckworth, the lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

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The jury granted $280 million in compensatory damages and an additional $1.4 billion in punitive damages. Toback was absent from the courtroom and had previously denied all allegations, insisting that any sexual encounters were consensual.

The New York Adult Survivors Act

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Toback launched his career in 1974 as the screenwriter of The Gambler and later made his directorial debut with Fingers in 1978. He gained critical recognition for directing the 1991 film Bugsy, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

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The women were able to bring forward their claims under the New York Adult Survivors Act, which allowed victims of sexual assault to file lawsuits within a one-year period during which the statute of limitations was lifted.

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