{"id":839858,"date":"2026-03-21T03:48:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T03:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/839858\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T03:48:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T03:48:26","slug":"kevin-spacey-mental-illness-should-trigger-29-5m-award-jury-hears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/839858\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevin Spacey ‘Mental Illness’ Should Trigger $29.5M Award, Jury Hears"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWas Kevin Spacey<\/a> sidelined by a dangerous \u201cmental illness\u201d <\/a>when he was suspended from \u201cHouse of Cards<\/a>\u201d in 2017 and eventually written off the Netflix<\/a> hit? Or was he fired because execs felt \u201cterror\u201d over possible reputational fallout as the #MeToo movement gained momentum?<\/p>\n

\n\tThat was the question handed to jurors Thursday after closing arguments capped a three-week civil trial in Santa Monica, Calif. The case that jurors will begin deliberating on Monday pits the show\u2019s production company, Media Rights Capital (MRC), against Fireman\u2019s Fund, the insurer that denied MRC\u2019s multimillion-dollar claim involving a policy that only covered losses if a \u201csickness\u201d left Spacey unable to perform his Emmy-nominated role as the politician Frank Underwood.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe dispute centers largely on Spacey\u2019s courtroom testimony last week and his related medical records showing he was formally diagnosed with \u201csexual compulsive behavior\u201d by the time he was discharged from an inpatient treatment program at the Meadows rehab in Arizona on Dec. 16, 2017. Lawyers for MRC argued that the diagnosis, along with Spacey\u2019s refusal to share his medical records for years, proved he was unfit to return. Two doctors who evaluated Spacey in 2025 agreed with the diagnosis, the lawyers said.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMr. Spacey was sick, and his sickness necessarily prevented him from completing his duties,\u201d Adam Ziffer, a lawyer for the studio, told jurors Thursday. The lawyer, who repeatedly referred to Spacey\u2019s diagnosis as a \u201cmental illness,\u201d urged jurors to award MRC $29.5 million in damages tied to production shutdowns and script revisions.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen it was his turn, a lawyer for Fireman\u2019s Fund claimed Spacey was effectively fired before his formal diagnosis was even known, so the real reason for his dismissal was fear of \u201creputational harm,\u201d something not covered by the policy. But Ziffer pushed back in his final rebuttal argument. He said an adjuster for Fireman\u2019s Fund was involved in an email chain on Nov. 2, 2017, where \u201carticles about sex addiction\u201d were shared as \u201cresearch\u201d about MRC\u2019s expected claim.<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cYes, PR was absolutely a concern, but there were other concerns, like the safety of people on the set,\u201d Ziffer argued, describing MRC\u2019s thinking. \u201cMr. Spacey couldn\u2019t be brought back because he posed an ongoing risk to the House of Cards cast and crew. \u2026 MRC would have been exposing itself to massive liability if it brought Mr. Spacey back to set.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut Leon Gladstone, the lawyer for Fireman\u2019s Fund, said the company\u2019s insurance policy only applied if Spacey was truly incapacitated and unable to work, a threshold he argued was not met. \u201cThe real cause of the loss was conduct that went public, conduct that was covered up, conduct that caused Netflix to pull the plug, conduct that MRC rushed to judgment over,\u201d Gladstone said.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter starting his argument with a House of Cards promotional image of the U.S. Capitol projected on screens around the courtroom, Gladstone highlighted an alleged incident during the show\u2019s first season in 2012. As jurors heard during the trial, a production assistant had accused Spacey of making a lewd comment and touching his belt that year. Producers hired a lawyer and commissioned a review of the complaint but kept it private and continued with the show, Gladstone said. He argued that executives took a different approach and terminated Spacey in 2017 because \u201cthe terror that they faced\u201d was a \u201cfirestorm of really bad publicity.\u201d He highlighted an internal company email from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos sent Aug. 2, 2017, that read, \u201cThere is no scenario in which Kevin Spacey will appear in any version of a final season of the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe hammer falls on Spacey on that day,\u201d Gladstone argued Thursday. He said the goal was \u201cdamage control.\u201d The \u201ctrigger on the policy,\u201d meanwhile, was that Spacey had to be \u201cincapacitated\u201d and \u201cunable to work,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n

\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n

\n\tSpacey\u2019s downward spiral started just weeks after The New York Times published a bombshell investigation<\/a> on Oct. 5, 2017, detailing a pattern of sexual misconduct by Harvey Weinstein, an article widely credited with propelling the #MeToo movement. As similar allegations against other high-profile people followed, actor Anthony Rapp came forward in a BuzzFeed article<\/a> on Oct. 29, 2017, alleging that Spacey made a sexual advance toward him<\/a> in 1986, when Rapp was only 14 years old. Days later, CNN reported allegations from eight anonymous House of Cards crew members who accused Spacey of \u201cpredatory\u201d behavior, including instances in which he allegedly would initiate a handshake and pull a person\u2019s hand toward his crotch.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt a 2022 civil trial in Manhattan federal court<\/a>, a jury found insufficient evidence to hold Spacey liable for Rapp\u2019s claims. In 2023, Spacey was acquitted<\/a> of sexual assault charges in London related to four men. An arbitrator later found Spacey liable for a $31 million payment<\/a> to MRC. A three-member appellate panel later upheld the award, leading Spacey to reach a settlement with MRC. The $31 million payment was reduced to $1 million under a deal where Spacey agreed to hand over his medical records and testify in the insurance lawsuit. The medical records were handed over in 2024.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHow can the medical records even figure in here, seven years after [Spacey] got suspended,\u201d Gladstone argued Thursday. \u201cThey could not have been the most important, or predominant cause [for the firing]. That ship sailed years before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGladstone argued Spacey wasn\u2019t a danger to anyone and could have returned for the completion of Season Six. He said Spacey voluntarily entered treatment at the Meadows amid turmoil surrounding his public coming-out and criticized the diagnostic process at the rehab center. \u201cTo them, every patient is an addict,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if you disagree with the diagnosis, you\u2019re in denial.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe said Spacey went to the Meadows because \u201che was struggling with his miserably planned coming out,\u201d a reference to Spacey\u2019s response to the BuzzFeed article. In the October 2017 statement, Spacey apologized to Rapp, saying he couldn\u2019t remember the alleged incident, and came out as gay.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe comes out in the most ham-fisted way, and the community just turns on him,\u201d Gladstone argued. The lawyer suggested the doctors at the Meadows fumbled Spacey\u2019s treatment because their program was geared toward addiction.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen he testified March 10, Spacey said his goal when he enrolled at the Meadows was to \u201caddress sexual behavior and boundaries\u201d at a time when his \u201clife felt like it was collapsing.\u201d He didn\u2019t know if he had \u201ca medical illness or a medical condition, but there were a lot of questions,\u201d he told jurors. \u201cI was trying to figure out where I had gotten it wrong, and could I make sure that I never put myself in a situation where someone questioned my motives again,\u201d he testified.<\/p>\n

\n

Kevin Spacey testified Tuesday at a trial over claims that an insurance company unfairly denied coverage related to Spacey’s 2017 departure from “House of Cards”<\/p>\n

Actor confirmed to jurors he was diagnosed with \u201csexual compulsive behavior\u201d<\/p>\n

Story incoming pic.twitter.com\/K32iG44j9W<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nancy Dillon (@Nancy__Dillon) March 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\tZiffer then asked Spacey to read a doctor\u2019s notation in his medical records. \u201cPatient will hold himself accountable for the adverse impact of his problematic sexual behaviors on self and others,\u201d the document stated. Spacey appeared noticeably frustrated.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI continue to work on taking accountability for when I didn\u2019t get it right, but this is typical of the records where it\u2019s a lot of gobbledygook,\u201d Spacey told the jury. \u201cI don\u2019t speak this way. I don\u2019t recognize it as something I would have said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOther medical notes listed goals such as improving Spacey\u2019s \u201cability to moderate multiple addictive or problematic behaviors\u201d and addressing \u201csexual behavior and boundaries.\u201d Spacey said he agrees that \u201cboundaries are an important thing to recognize,\u201d and that he \u201cdidn\u2019t always read the room right,\u201d but he denied telling doctors one of his \u201cproblem behaviors\u201d was \u201ctouching in public without permission.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI can tell you that throughout the medical records, there are comments attributed to me I never said,\u201d he testified, his voice rising. He said the doctors\u2019 narrative notes contained obvious inaccuracies. \u201cThey have an idea that I had a British accent, that I have a wife,\u201d the unmarried, openly gay actor said. \u201cThey\u2019re dealing with 29 other men. I have no idea how they take notes. I\u2019m simply saying that\u2019s not something I said because that\u2019s not something I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his closing argument, Ziffer said Spacey\u2019s denials on the witness stand showed he remained a danger to others. He reminded jurors that a psychiatrist who testified at trial said \u201cdenial is a core feature of sexual compulsive disorder\u201d and \u201cthe hallmark of the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tZiffer also pointed to the fact that Spacey was still facing a legal challenge in the United Kingdom when he testified. On Thursday, the BBC reported<\/a> that Spacey had reached out-of-court settlements with three men who accused him of sexual misconduct, with several allegations tied to his tenure as artistic director of the Old Vic theater in London from 2004 to 2013. The settlements came as Spacey was heading toward a civil trial in London\u2019s High Court over the allegations.<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his final words to the jury, Ziffer sought to cast Spacey as a predator with a pattern. He said the arbitrator who initially found Spacey liable for the $31 million award to MRC found several of Spacey\u2019s accusers to be credible. \u201cSpacey could not be brought back to set 45 days after he left, or a year after he left, and perform in a professional manner,\u201d he said. \u201cSpacey confirmed in the first days he was at the Meadows that he periodically used the power position to exploit or be sexual with another person, employer to employee, that he periodically seduced people who worked for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tZiffer accused Fireman\u2019s Fund of being \u201caligned with Spacey. The lawyer added, \u201cThey\u2019re denying the claim, and we ask that you hold Fireman\u2019s Fund accountable for the insurance that they sold to MRC.\u201d<\/p>\n