ANGELS – A preliminary agreement was reached in a lawsuit that accused James Franco of intimidating students at a film and acting school he set up to get free sex and who took advantage of students, as announced yesterday. by the applicants’ lawyers.
Both sides presented a joint state document to the Los Angeles Superior Court, indicating to a judge that a solution had been reached in the class action lawsuit filed by former students at the now-closed school, Studio 4, although some aspects of the process could be confirmed. .
The document was presented on February 11, although it had not been reported before the pact.
Actresses and former students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal, who began the trial in 2019, have agreed to withdraw their private accusations, according to the document. Their lawsuit alleges that Franco pressured his students to perform increasingly explicit sex scenes in the camera in an “orgy-like context” that went far beyond what was acceptable in Hollywood filming.
He claimed that Franco was “trying to create a source of young women subjected to their sexual and professional exploitation in the name of education” and that the students were led to believe that there would be roles available in Franco’s films for which they accepted the terms. .
The trial showed that the incidents took place in a master class on sex scenes taught by Franco at Studio 4, which opened in 2014 and closed in 2017.
Both sides negotiated an agreement for months, and the trial was suspended while the dialogue continued.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers, from Valli Kane & Vagnini, LLP, confirmed to the Associated Press last night in a statement that a settlement had been reached.
Emails sent out of office hours to defense attorneys received no response at first.
In a previous court document, Franco’s lawyers praised the #MeToo movement that helped inspire the lawsuit, although they dismissed his allegations as “false and sensational, without legal grounds and filed as a collective action lawsuit with the obvious purpose of accumulate as much publicity as possible. for applicants seeking care. “They noticed that Tither-Kaplan had expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to work with Franco in the past.
The allegations of sexual exploitation of other plaintiffs in the process will be rejected without prejudice, which means that they can be re-filed outside the class action process, the joint report states.
The document did not disclose how much money could have been included in the agreement.
In an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show after the trial in 2018, Franco said the allegations against him were inaccurate, although he added: “If I did something wrong, I will fix it. I have to do it. “
Franco, 42, best known for starring in comedies with Seth Rogen, has kept his overall profile low, as the allegations came at an extremely productive time for the actor, culminating in award-winning The Disaster Artist.