Former House of Cards actor Kevin Spacey has been ordered to pay the show's creators almost $31 million.
Spacey was fired from the Netflix series in 2017 ahead of the final season after allegations were made of sexual misconduct with young crew members.
The actor had been ordered to pay the amount to cover the losses incurred by House of Cards production studio MRC when they had to stop the show's sixth and final season to remove him from it.
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In the aftermath of his sacking, Spacey's character Frank Underwood was killed off and the show's final season picked up after his death with his wife Claire (Robin Wright) having assumed the presidency.
According to AP, Judge Mel Red Recana ruled that the actor and his production company would legally have to pay out $30.9 million to MRC and other companies which had a hand in making the show.
In a document filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, MRC claimed that Spacey's conduct breached his contract's demand to behave professionally, and that the aftermath of his sacking cost them significantly.
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The document says Spacey was found to be 'engaging certain conduct in connection with several crew members in each of the five seasons that he starred in and executive produced House of Cards'.
MRC argued that ditching Spacey forced them to halt production of the show in order to rewrite the final season of House of Cards, as well as having to shorten it from 13 episodes to eight so they could meet deadlines.
Michael Kump, an attorney for MRC, said the company was 'pleased with the court's ruling'.
Spacey's legal team had claimed that his firing from the Netflix show came before House of Cards crew members brought their allegations against him.
They argued that the actor had not violated his contract and was therefore not responsible for the tens of millions in losses the studio incurred as a result of his firing.
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However, Judge Mel Red Recana ruled that Spacey's attorneys had 'failed to demonstrate that this was even a close case'.
He said the actor's team 'did not demonstrate that the damages award was so utterly irrational that it amounts to an arbitrary remaking of the parties' contracts'
Spacey's attorney and representatives have denied the allegations made against him.
In another case against the actor, Spacey pleaded 'not guilty' to charges he is facing in the UK of sexually assaulting three men, saying he is 'confident' he will be able to 'prove my innocence'.
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If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org
Joe Harker