Harvey Weinstein’s Jury Consultant Sues Over Unpaid $166K Bill
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Word to the wise: If you work for Harvey Weinstein, get paid up front.
Dubin Research and Consulting, one of the top jury consulting firms in New York, filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming that Weinstein owes $166,000 in unpaid fees.
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The firm becomes only the latest legal services provider to accuse Weinstein of failing to pay his bills.
Bayard P.A., a Delaware law firm, filed another lawsuit in New York on Tuesday alleging that Weinstein owed $423,316. Bayard represented the disgraced producer in the Weinstein Co. bankruptcy case, as well as in a dispute with his brother Bob Weinstein over some property in Manhattan, according to the complaint.
Dubin was retained in January to provide “background research on jurors, media analysis,” and other services during Weinstein’s criminal trial. According to the complaint, Weinstein paid an $80,000 retainer.
The firm sent an invoice documenting charges totaling $246,000 on Feb. 7 — leaving an unpaid balance of $166,000. According to the suit, Weinstein never paid.
Weinstein’s spokesman declined to comment on either suit.
The producer was convicted in February of rape and sexual assault, and is now serving a 23-year sentence at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security facility near Buffalo, New York.
During the trial, Weinstein’s lawyers complained that they were not given more time to individually question prospective jurors. The jury selection process is likely to form one of the grounds for an appeal.
The prosecution accused Weinstein’s defense team of systematically excluding white female jurors from the panel. Ultimately, two white women made it onto the jury, but only after the defense team ran out of peremptory challenges.
Sitrick & Co., the crisis PR firm Weinstein hired in 2017, filed its own complaint in July 2018, alleging that Weinstein had failed to pay $352,000. The suit was later settled.
Jose Baez, a criminal defense attorney who represented Weinstein for a few months in 2019, left the case amid claims that he was failing to adhere to the firm’s fee agreement.
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