Oscar-winning writer and director Paul Haggis has agreed to pay nearly $2 million to settle a civil lawsuit brought by a publicist who accused him of raping her more than a decade ago, closing a case that once resulted in a $10 million jury verdict against the filmmaker.
Court filings in New York show that Haggis and publicist Haleigh Breest have reached an agreement to resolve all remaining disputes stemming from the lawsuit. The settlement brings the case to an end at a fraction of the damages previously awarded by a Manhattan jury in 2022.
Haggis, best known for Crash and Million Dollar Baby, had been found liable by a six-member jury for sexually assaulting Breest in his SoHo apartment in 2013. Jurors concluded that Haggis committed vaginal, oral and digital assault, awarding Breest $7.5 million in compensatory damages. The jury later added $2.5 million in punitive damages, citing the malicious nature of the conduct.
Despite the verdict, Haggis consistently denied the allegations. His legal team sought to overturn the jury’s findings, but those efforts failed. In early 2023, New York County Supreme Court Justice Sabrina Kraus rejected Haggis’s request to vacate the verdict, ruling that no trial errors had deprived him of a fair proceeding.
Months later, the court ruled that Breest’s attorneys at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward and Maazel were entitled to roughly $2.85 million in legal fees and costs for their work securing the verdict.
The newly filed stipulation, dated January 5, consolidates the post trial judgments into a single amended judgment totaling $1,963,361 in Breest’s favor. The filing indicates that both sides agreed to resolve the matter without further litigation, bringing an end to years of legal battles.
Neither Haggis nor Breest’s legal teams immediately commented on the settlement.
During the three-week trial, Breest testified that Haggis forced her to have sex following a film premiere in 2013. Prosecutors also called four additional women, who testified anonymously, to describe separate sexual assault allegations involving Haggis.
Haggis denied all accusations, maintaining that his encounter with Breest was consensual. His attorneys argued that the lawsuit was financially motivated and claimed the case was influenced by the Church of Scientology, which Haggis publicly criticized after leaving the organization.
The case drew widespread attention due to Haggis’s stature in Hollywood and its timing amid broader discussions about sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry. The settlement closes one of the most high-profile civil cases connected to those debates.
Breest was represented by attorneys from Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward and Maazel, along with counsel from Proman Legal. Haggis was represented by Aidala Bertuna and Kamins.
