Paul Haggis’ civil rape case came to an end earlier this year after the “Crash” director settled with accuser Haleigh Breest for $2 million.
According to court documents obtained and reviewed by TheWrap, the filmmaker, who was found liable in 2022 for forcing sex on Breest 12 years ago, “amicably resolved all disputes” after the years-long court battle. The “Crash” director was originally found liable to pay damages for forcing sex on Haleigh Breest in 2013 that equated to $7.5 million and recommended punitive damages.
Back during the 2022 hearing, Breest testified over four days, saying Haggis pressured her to come up to his apartment for a drink, where he immediately began kissing her and making aggressive passes. She said that against her repeated protests, the encounter concluded when he ripped off her tights on a guestroom bed, forced her to perform oral sex and vaginally raped her.
“I am grateful that I had the opportunity to seek justice and accountability in court — and that the jury chose to follow the facts — and believed me,” Breest said at the time. “The greatest source of comfort through this five-year legal journey has been the support I felt from the women who bravely shared their own stories and let me know I wasn’t alone.”
The filmmaker had argued that the encounter was consensual, that the former freelance publicist was out for a payday and that the allegations were somehow a Scientologist plot. The civil jury in New York rejected all three defenses in the case.
Haggis also had his membership to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences put under review after the civil trial. He was later expelled. In the Academy’s 94-year history, it has expelled just five previous members: Carmine Caridi, Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Roman Polanski and cinematographer Adam Kimmel.
