Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis was ordered Monday to pay an additional $2.5 million in damages in a rape lawsuit, bringing the total amount he must pay to $10 million.
He is accused of sexually assaulting Haleigh Breest nearly a decade ago.
Breest’s lawyers welcomed the verdict, but Haggis insisted he had been falsely accused and financially harmed fighting the civil case, and vowed to appeal.
“I can’t live with lies like this. I’ll die clearing my name,” he said as he left the court.
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Oscar-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis was ordered Monday to pay an additional $2.5 million in damages in a rape lawsuit, bringing the total amount he must pay to $10 million.
(Julia Nikhinson)
Breest said Haggis raped her and forced her to perform oral sex on him in his New York City apartment on January 31, 2013. The filmmaker claims the sexual encounter was consensual.
Last week, the jury returned a verdict in Breest’s favor and awarded him $7.5 million in compensatory damages for suffering. The jury also decided that she owed punitive damages.
Jurors returned to court on Monday to hear testimony about Haggis’ finances and to determine how much more he would be required to pay.
Haggis was asked about his earnings on films such as Academy Award-winning ‘Crash’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby’, as well as the James Bond films ‘Casino Royale’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’.
He told jurors the intricacies of screenwriters’ compensation and estimated he had won as much as $25 million before taxes, agents and other representatives’ fees, and asset splits with his two ex-wives.
Haggis has worked in film for over 40 years.

Last week, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Haleigh Breest and awarded her $7.5 million in compensatory damages for suffering. The jury also decided that she owed punitive damages.
(AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
The filmmaker said he suffered various financial losses throughout his career, including the destruction of an uninsured home in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. But, he said, the lawsuit of Breest wiped him out, and his legal fees topped $2.6 million.
“I spent all the money I had. I emptied my pension plan, I lived on loans, to pay this case in a very naive belief in justice,” he said. before the tribunal. .
Breest’s attorney questioned the validity of Haggis’ claims about his financial situation.
“Nothing Paul Haggis says is trustworthy,” attorney Ilann Maazel said.
Maazel said after the verdict that the jury “did the right thing”.
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Paul Haggis is accused of sexually assaulting Haleigh Breest nearly a decade ago.
(AP)
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Breest said she suffered professional and psychological harm as a result of the incident at Haggis’ apartment. She had accepted an invitation to have a drink at his house after a movie premiere.
She sued for unspecified damages. Haggis has not been charged.
In a statement after the initial verdict on Thursday, Breest said she appreciated “the opportunity to seek justice and accountability in court – and that the jury chose to follow the facts – and believed me.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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