A federal jury in Manhattan on Thursday found Robert De Niro’s company liable for gender discrimination against a former employee who claimed that the actor assigned her “stereotypically female” job responsibilities such as washing his sheets and attending to his home even as she climbed the ranks of his company, awarding her $1.3 million in damages.
Mr. De Niro and his former employee, Graham Chase Robinson, had been locked in a legal battle for the past four years over her claims, as well as the assertions by Canal Productions that Ms. Robinson had improperly spent tens of thousands of dollars of company money on food, travel and other personal charges, and had also co-opted roughly 4.5 million airline miles using company credit card points.
The jury of seven people, who reached a unanimous decision, did not find Ms. Robinson liable for Canal’s claims against her.
After five hours of deliberations, the jury also found Mr. De Niro’s company liable for Ms. Robinson’s claim of retaliation, which revolved around a dispute in 2019 between her and Mr. De Niro’s girlfriend that ultimately resulted in Ms. Robinson’s resignation from the company she had worked at for more than a decade.
The jury did not find Mr. De Niro as an individual liable for either gender discrimination or retaliation.
Persons:
Robert De Niro’s, De Niro, Graham Chase Robinson, Robinson, De, Robinson’s
Organizations:
Canal Productions
Locations:
Manhattan