The Weinstein Company Holdings LLC’s bankruptcy plan is an attempt by the company’s insurers to hijack the bankruptcy process to limit their litigation exposure, according to a group of women with sexual abuse claims against the studio and former directors, Bloomberg Law reported. Producer Alexandra Canosa and actresses Wedil David and Dominique Huett on Thursday urged the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to convert the production company’s chapter 11 case to a trustee-controlled chapter 7. The pending restructuring proposal “permits the insurance companies to re-write existing policies and offer a fraction of policy coverage that is available,” they said in a court filing. Instead, the bankruptcy judge should reject the insurers’ settlement arrangement and allow Harvey Weinstein’s accusers to pursue potentially greater recoveries in their own, separate court cases, the women said. The chapter 11 plan “is the best opportunity for a meaningful recovery for holders of sexual misconduct claims, as well as the rest of the debtors’ creditors,” the company said in a Thursday court filing. The defunct studio is seeking to establish a $17 million fund for sexual abuse victims as part of its plan, but said it will only seek confirmation if a class of sexual misconduct claimants votes to approve it.
