The far-reaching repercussions of the dramatic fall of infamous Hollywood Producer Harvey Weinstein continue, as his former President and COO was ordered to pay a large debt in arrears or forfeit his stake in a movie studio.
LA County Superior Court Judge David Sotelo ordered ex-Weinstein former CEO and COO David Glasser to pay over $1.19 million to an Icelandic plaintiff.
The lawsuit by venture capitalist Gunnlaugur Petur Erlendsson is against Glasser due to his default on repayment of his investor's money as legally promised.
In a prior court agreement, Glasser agreed to pay Erlendsson $1,086,681 in two installments. The Settlement and Release agreement included Glasser's promised payments of $1,200,000, but the defendant only paid $500,000 in total.
Judge Sotelo now ordered Glasser to pay his creditor Erlendsson the full amount due, or the plaintiff may force the sale of the defendant’s shares in the defendant's new 101 Studios to fulfill the expensive debt.
Erlendsson invested in Glasser's new studio just as Weinstein's infamous demise due to sex scandals occurred.
Weinstein was Glasser's partner in 101 Studios, with projects including numerous hits such as "Unstoppable" and "Yellowstone," among others.
Published reports state the new venture secured about $300 million, including funds from venture capitalist Erlendson.
The relationship between Weinstein and Glasser soured in 2018. Weinstein fired Glasser after Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sued the former president and COO for allegedly failing to protect women employees from Weinstein's sexual harassment.
In a news conference at the time, Schneiderman specifically noted Glasser's alleged criminal behavior at the Weinstein company.
"The COO David Glasser, who supervised the human resources department, did not stop this discrimination, harassment, and abuse, even though he was in charge of handling dozens of shocking complaints," he said.
The Weinstein Company fired Glasser only a few days after Schneiderman's lawsuit. At the time, Glasser was fired in a brief, one-sentence note saying it was "for cause," without any specific details.
Upon his termination, Glasser's attorney Eve Wagner released a statement, saying his firing was an attempt by Weinstein to distract attention from the sexual harassment cases.
"My client's sudden termination was nothing more than a desperate attempt to deflect attention away from the very people who were empowered to halt Harvey Weinstein's abusive behavior — chairman Bob Weinstein and the two other members of the TWC board of directors," said Wagner.
101 Studios is a global entertainment studio headquartered in Century City. The company announced in 2019 it had secured $300 million to develop and produce four to six new films in the US, plus financing and producing six to eight new television programs in development.
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