Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis was ordered to pay an additional $2.5 million in damages in a rape lawsuit, bringing the total amount he owes to $10 million.
The Hollywood screenwriter, producer, and director worked on award winning projects including “Crash” and “Million Dollar Baby,” plus the James Bond movies “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace.” He stands accused of sexually assaulting publicist Haleigh Breest in January 2013. Haggis claimed the sexual encounter was consensual.
The screenwriter expressed his dissatisfaction with the jury ruling, vowing to appeal their decision. “I can’t live with lies like this. I will die clearing my name,” Haggis said, per NBC News.
The jury had already awarded Breest $7.5 million in compensatory damages for suffering as part of the civil suit, but returned to court to decide if she was also owed punitive damages based on Haggis’ financial situation. The screenwriter claimed to have made $25 million over the course of his career, but insisted that figure didn’t account for funds disbursed for taxes, agents fees, and payments to his two ex-wives.
Haggis further said the loss of poorly insured homes on top of the amount he’d spent so far on legal fees had left him essentially broke. He noted that his career tanking didn’t help the situation. A former Scientologist, Haggis said that he’d given an estimated $2 million in donations to the church over the years.
The Hollywood director only has “a couple hundred thousand” left to his name, he said.
“I’ve spent all the money I have at my disposal. I’ve gutted my pension plan, I’ve lived on loans, in order to pay for this case in a very naïve belief in justice,” he explained during an interview outside court.
“He’s not going to be able to pay the judgment you’ve already created,” Haggis’ lawyer Priya Chaudhry agreed. “And there’s no way he can pay anything further.”
“Nothing Paul Haggis says can be trusted,” Breest’s attorney Ilann Maazel insisted in response to the director being broke.
Though Haggis never faced criminal charges for the alleged sexual assault, Breest brought the civil suit to court, claiming she suffered professional and psychological harm from their encounter. After the first ruling, the publicist said in a statement that she was thankful for “the opportunity to seek justice and accountability in court — and that the jury chose to follow the facts — and believed me.”
