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James Toback in 2017 at the Venice Film Festival: allegations always denied
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Manfred Segerer / IMAGO
Dozens of women are taking legal action against US director James Toback, 78.
They have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court in Manhattan for sexualized violence, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, among others.
In the class action lawsuit, 38 women accuse Toback of "exploiting his reputation and power."
He had lured young women into compromising situations “through fraud, coercion, violence and intimidation” and then committed sexual assaults.
Toback did not comment on the lawsuit.
He had previously denied any wrongdoing.
The allegations became public in 2017 through a report in the Los Angeles Times.
Toback is said to have met the women in hotel rooms or parks and pretended it was a business meeting.
He is said to have asked lewd questions that women groped or masturbated in front of them.
It had been like this for decades.
In 2018, the Los Angeles Attorney's Office said the statute of limitations had expired on five cases it reviewed and declined to investigate further.
The class action lawsuit was made possible thanks to a new rule: A New York law last month lifted the previously applicable statute of limitations for such civil actions.
Harvard Club crime scene?
Fifteen of the women are named in the New York lawsuit and 23 are anonymous.
Along with Toback, the Harvard Club, an exclusive Manhattan establishment for Harvard alumni, is also listed as a defendant.
Some of the women claim to have been abused there.
The club had informed the newspaper that Toback's membership had expired in 2017.
No one commented on the lawsuit.
Toback graduated from Harvard in 1966.
Toback's career as a screenwriter and director in Hollywood spanned decades.
He was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay for the film »Bugsy«.
Since the allegations became known, he has withdrawn from the public.
jpz/AP