On Wednesday 9 April 2025, in a courtroom packed with decades of trauma, a New York City jury awarded a staggering $1.68 billion to 40 women who had accused writer and director James Toback of sexual abuse.

Officially deemed one of the largest jury awards in New York state history, falling squarely in the wake of the #MeToo movement, both netizens and legal experts have recognised the historical significance of this case. Let that number sit with you: $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion in punitive damages.

While James Toback had faced scrutiny for years, having been accused of sexual harassment by approximately 200 women in 2017, it wasn’t until 2022 that legal action was first pursued. The lawsuit came about after New York state passed the New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window allowing adult survivors of sexual abuse to bring civil claims that the statute of limitations would otherwise bar. That window closed in late 2023, but the case against Toback was already in motion.

Fast forward three years, and on Wednesday 9 April, 40 women accused Toback of sexual abuse spanning more than three decades. The jury found in favour of the plaintiffs in a civil case that marks one of the largest financial awards in a sexual misconduct suit in the state’s history—and one of the most powerful since the rise of the #MeToo movement.

James Toback was just hit by a Manhattan jury with a verdict of $1.68 Billion! 40 women each receiving $42M! Toback – screenwriter, director, & sexual predator. Plaintiffs’ attorneys, my dear friends Brad Beckworth & Ross Leonoudakis of Nix Patterson! You heard it here first! pic.twitter.com/Qtr9jW3SKI

— Cameron Spradling, Attorney & Counselor at Law (@CamSpradling) April 9, 2025

Toback, 80, is best known for writing the Oscar-nominated 1991 film Bugsy, and for having worked in Hollywood for over 40 years. But behind the glamour of the industry, the plaintiffs described a long and disturbing pattern: Toback allegedly approached young women—often on the streets of New York—under the guise of casting them in upcoming projects, before luring them into private settings where they were subjected to sexual acts, threats, and psychological coercion.

Catching up with the James Toback court documents; so far this has leapt out at me pic.twitter.com/9ncqSEEzuw

— Will Sloan (@WillSloanEsq) April 1, 2024

The abuse is said to have occurred between 1979 and 2014. The women’s accounts, while spanning decades, bear disturbing similarities. What began as an opportunity turned into exploitation.

James Toback’s Seduced and Abandoned (2013) https://t.co/jYgsnAOLVV pic.twitter.com/bjcFrRrIay

— Will Sloan (@WillSloanEsq) March 30, 2024

In January 2025, a default judgment was entered against Toback after he repeatedly failed to appear in court. As a result, the court automatically ruled in favour of the plaintiffs on the question of liability. The trial held this month was solely to determine the damages he would owe. The jury ultimately awarded $280 million in compensatory damages and $1.4 billion in punitive damages.

Toback has long denied the allegations, claiming in court documents that any contact with the women was consensual and even attempting to argue that the Adult Survivors Act violated his constitutional rights. But, as reported by NBC, when it came time to defend himself in person, the former director didn’t show up.

The women, on the other hand, all showed up in court and made their statements clear: “For decades, I carried this trauma in silence, and today, a jury believed me. Believe us. That changes everything,” said Mary Monahan, one of the lead plaintiffs, in a statement after the verdict. “This verdict is more than a number—it’s a declaration. We are not disposable. We are not liars. We are not collateral damage in someone else’s power trip.”

Justice served at last.

Still remarkable that James Toback continued unchecked with dozens of women for years and years after we first reported this story in Spy magazine in 1989. After which he threatened us. And then until 2017 proceeded to direct movies with big-name stars. pic.twitter.com/9Oe9fzoxtJ

— Kurt Andersen (@KBAndersen) April 10, 2025

The case was led by attorney Brad Beckworth of Nix Patterson LLP, who said the size of the award was not just about punishment—it was about power. “This verdict is about justice. But more importantly, it’s about taking power back from the abusers—and their enablers—and returning it to those he tried to control and silence.”

Though the court had not yet released the official verdict documentation by Wednesday night, the message had already landed. Loud. Clear. Unmissable.

As reported by the Hollywood Reporter, while the jury awarded $1.68 billion, it remains to be seen whether the full amount—particularly the $1.4 billion in punitive damages—will hold. New York does not impose a formal cap on such awards, but courts often adjust figures that significantly outweigh compensatory damages.

Regardless of any future adjustments, the message sent by the jury was clear: silence no longer protects power.