The $44 million proposal includes about $30 million allocated for plaintiffs, a broad category that includes alleged victims, former Weinstein Co. employees and studio creditors, and would cover the plaintiffs’ lawyers fees, according to the same people familiar with the matter. About $14 million would be used to pay legal fees of Mr. Weinstein’s associates, including his former board members who were named as defendants in lawsuits, the people said.
The money would come from insurance policies, including those held by his former studio, the people said.
The proposed agreement wouldn’t affect a criminal case pending against Mr. Weinstein in Manhattan, which charges him with rape and other sex crimes. He has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. His trial is scheduled to begin in September.
The civil lawsuits, filed by women in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, name more than 15 defendants, including Mr. Weinstein and associates who were on the company’s board. Some of the alleged incidents in a proposed class-action lawsuit go back more than 25 years. The women claim Mr. Weinstein’s associates helped facilitate his alleged sexual abuse, which they have denied.
A lawyer for plaintiffs in the proposed class-action suit didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for insurance company Chubb Ltd. and a lawyer for a committee representing Weinstein Co. creditors declined to comment.