NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� A jury awarded more than $1.2 million to Robert De Niro鈥檚 former personal assistant Thursday, finding one of his companies responsible for subjecting her to a toxic work environment.
While the jury found De Niro was not personally liable for the abuse, it said his company, Canal Productions, engaged in gender discrimination and retaliation against former assistant Graham Chase Robinson and should make two payments of $632,142 to her.
De Niro, who spent three days at the two-week trial 鈥� including two on the witness stand 鈥� has been with Robinson since she quit in April 2019. He was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read aloud Thursday afternoon.
Robinson, 41, smiled as the verdict was being delivered. After the jury left the room, she hugged her lawyers.
Outside the courthouse, she smiled broadly and at other times seemed to be near tears. She did not comment.
Lawyers on both sides claimed victory.
鈥淲e're thrilled with the verdict,鈥� Robinson's attorney, Brent Hannafan, said as he stood with his client outside the courthouse. 鈥淐ouldn鈥檛 be happier."
Meanwhile, De Niro attorney Richard Schoenstein called the verdict 鈥渁 great victory for Mr. De Niro.鈥�
鈥淗e is absolved. He is not liable for anything that was charged against him at all,鈥� Schoenstein said. 鈥淭here's a modest award against the company. But, you know, they were looking for $12 million.鈥�
The lawyer said De Niro's lawyers could try to reduce the award with post-verdict motions to the judge, but he wasn't sure there would be any. He said he didn't know if there would be an appeal.
Robinson had testified that De Niro, 80, and his girlfriend, Tiffany Chen, teamed up against her to turn a job she once loved into a nightmare.
De Niro and Chen each testified that Robinson became the problem when her aspirations to move beyond Canal Productions, the De Niro company that employed her, led her to make escalating demands to remain on the job.
Emails in which Chen told De Niro that she thought Robinson was having 鈥渋maginary intimacy鈥� with him and wished she was his wife were shown to jurors. Robinson testified that she never had romantic interest in De Niro.
In two days on the witness stand, the actor told jurors that he boosted Robinson's salary from less than $100,000 annually to $300,000 and elevated her title to vice president of production and finance at her request, even though her responsibilities remained largely the same.
When she quit, De Niro said, Robinson stole about $85,000 in airline miles from him, betrayed his trust and violated his unwritten rules to use common sense and always do the right thing.
At times, De Niro acknowledged from the witness stand many of the claims Robinson made to support her $12 million gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, including that he may have told her that his personal trainer was paid more than her in part because he had a family to support.
He agreed he had asked her to on at least two occasions, dismissing a question about it with: 鈥淥k, twice? You got me!鈥�
He admitted that he had berated her, though he disputed ever aiming a profanity her way, saying: 鈥淚 was never abusive, ever.鈥�
He also denied ever yelling at her, saying every little thing she was trying to catch him with was nonsense and that, at most, he had raised his voice in her presence but never with disrespect. Then, he looked at her sitting between her lawyers in the well of the courtroom and shouted:
De Niro said Robinson was wrong to take 5 million airline miles from his company's accounts, but he acknowledged that he had told her she could take 2 million miles and that there were no strict rules.
Robinson testified that she quit her job during an 鈥渆motional and mental breakdown鈥� that left her overwhelmed and feeling like she'd 鈥渉it rock bottom.鈥�
She said she has suffered from anxiety and depression since quitting and hasn't worked in four years despite applying for 638 jobs.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a social life,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 so humiliated and embarrassed and feel so judged. I feel so damaged in a way. ... I lost my life. Lost my career. Lost my financial independence. I lost everything.鈥�
De Niro's lawyers sued Robinson for breach of loyalty and fiduciary duty even before her lawsuit was filed against him in 2019. They sought $6 million in damages, including a return of the 5 million airline miles. The jury flatly rejected the claims.
has won two Oscars over the past five decades in films such as 鈥淩aging Bull鈥� and 鈥淭he Deer Hunter.鈥� He鈥檚 in the Martin Scorsese film 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon鈥� that鈥檚 in theaters now.
Larry Neumeister, The Associated Press
