Robert De Niro was found not guilty by a civil jury in New York City today of engaging in gender discrimination and retaliation against Graham Chase Robinson, his former assistant. However, the actor’s private services and business organization, Canal, was mandated to pay Robinson $1.2 million in penalties.
Additionally, the jury exonerated Robinson of any financial misconduct during her eleven years working for the two-time Oscar winner and curator of the Tribeca Film Festival, Raging Bull and The Godfather: Part II. Robinson was present in the courtroom, but De Niro was not. After the verdict in the federal case was given by a four-woman, three-man jury, she grinned and gave an embrace to one of the two female members of her team of lawyers.
Brent Hannafan, a Robinson attorney, told journalists outside the courtroom that although his client would not immediately comment on the decision, “she feels vindicated.” “It’s not a split decision at all,” he said. “We are thrilled by the jury’s verdict. More important, the jury saw what Ms. Robinson saw.” The jury decided that Canal was guilty of both retaliation and sexism, and they gave Robinson a precise $632,142.86 on every count. While noting that Robinson had been earning $300,000 a year when she left in 2019 and that around 4.5 years had passed since then, Hannafan said he was unsure of the foundation for the figure.
In his initial case, Robinson demanded $12 million from De Niro. “Obviously, they got it right as to Mr. De Niro, that’s for sure” De Niro and Canal’s attorney Richard Schoenstein said of the verdict. “So that’s gratifying.” “It strikes me as a compromise verdict,” he continued, referring to the jury’s understanding of the case as “a disagreement between an employee and her previous employer,” denoting Canal. He said that in the event of more court procedures, the judge might reduce the $1.2 million award. “They were seeking $12 million, and they got $600,000,” he stated. “Mr. De Niro was found not at fault at all,” he said.
However, during the nine-day trial, Robinson’s attorneys emphasized that “Canal is De Niro, and De Niro is Canal.” The actor was the business’s owner and had the last word in everything. On the witness stand, De Niro acknowledged as much, but he also stated that he trusted the few employees of the company, including Robinson, to make many of the choices. Canal runs independently of De Niro’s film festival and production companies.
After five hours of deliberation, the jury adjourned from Judge Lewis Liman’s Manhattan courtroom without speaking with the media.
Attorneys for Robinson declined to comment on whether Tom Harvey, the company’s in-house attorney, and De Niro’s girlfriend, martial arts trainer Tiffany Chen, were targeted in the verdict. Robinson had resigned and requested a settlement, and both had pushed for an investigation into Robinson’s utilization of corporate funds.