CBS Lawyer’s Strategy Backfired in Leadup to $9.5M Settlement of Actress’s Sexual Harassment Claim
The ABA Journal reports that CBS paid $9.5 million to settle a sexual harassment claim by Bull actress Eliza Dushku after a network lawyer released outtakes from the show in the mistaken belief that film of her cursing on the set would help the company.
The outtakes were a “gold mine” for Dushku because they captured some of the harassment, according to a draft investigation report.
Covington & Burling and Debevoise & Plimpton, law firms hired to investigate sexual misconduct allegations against the network’s then-CEO, Leslie Moonves, drafted the report. Mark Engstrom, the chief compliance officer at CBS, was identified as the lawyer who released the outtakes.