Court dismisses Rose McGowan’s RICO lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein and his lawyers

The federal judge dismissed the case after McGowan fired her attorneys and missed a court-ordered briefing deadline

By Gabrielle Sanchez | December 7, 2021 | 5:28pm

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Court dismisses Rose McGowan’s RICO lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein and his lawyers

Rose McGowan Photo: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP

Actor Rose McGowan’s RICO lawsuit against former film producer Harvey Weinstein—who is currently serving his 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault—has been dismissed by a federal judge.

McGowan filed the RICO lawsuit against Weinstein and attorneys David Boies and Lisa Bloom in October of 2019, alleging the three organized a scheme to spy on her and undermine her accusations in an effort to prevent her from coming forward. Although Judge Otis D. Wright dismissed most of her claims in December 2020, he permitted McGowan to proceed with two fraud claims, and allowed her to amend the RICO allegations.

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After amending the complaint, Wright still ruled that the allegations did not measure up to a racketeering or organized crime level on November 9.

“Defendants’ effort to silence McGowan was a single, unified project with an end goal and an end date,” Wright held. “Thus, it is not the sort of continuous effort that is prohibited by RICO.”

For next steps, Wright ordered a briefing from McGowan concerning the remaining state charges and whether or not the federal court should handle the proceedings or if they needed to be refiled in state court.

However, on the eve of the November 24 filing deadline, McGowan’s lead attorney, Julie Porter, informed the court that McGowan had fired her over Zoom and she would no longer be involved in the case.

“I have diligently endeavored to communicate with Plaintiff about the Court’s questions. Plaintiff did not authorize me to take any positions on the questions the Court posed,” Porter said in the declaration. “On November 23, 2021, Plaintiff communicated to me during a Zoom meeting that she was terminating the attorney-client relationship, effectively immediately, and that Plaintiff no longer authorizes me or the other lawyers on our team to represent her. Plaintiff was very clear that she was terminating the representation.”

McGowan then represented herself in court, and received a new deadline for the brief. After missing the December 3 deadline, Wright has dismissed the case entirely. Any next steps taken by McGowan will take place in state court.