Devyn LaBella, who worked as a stunt double for the lead female actress in Kevin Costner’s production of Horizon II, prevailed in Court today against Kevin Costner. At Mr. Costner’s direction, on May 2nd, 2023, Ms. LaBella was subjected to an unscripted, unplanned violent rape scene, which is the basis for her suit. Defendants filed a motion to have the case dismissed, claiming that the abusive conduct was protected as part of the “creative process.” The Court resoundingly denied their motion as to eight counts.
Accountability for Those Who Abuse Their Power
Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP attorney, James A. Vagnini, Esq. said: “Today, the court stood with Devyn and recognized the strong merits of her case, an important step towards unveiling the truth about what happened that day and creating accountability for those who abuse their power. We hope the Defendants won’t waste any more time on frivolous motions and panicked stall tactics, and instead allow for the discovery phase, when we’ll hear directly from the witnesses on set about the events that transpired. We look forward to our continued pursuit of justice for Ms.LaBella as she bravely continues to stand her ground.”
Court saw through Defendants smoke and mirrors
Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP attorney, Kate McFarlane said: “The logical conclusion of the Defense argument is that you can rape or kill someone so long as it’s part of the ‘creative process.’ The creative process cannot be used as a shield for unlawful conduct.”
She went on, “Today, the Court saw through Defendants smoke and mirrors, where they attempted to hide their abhorrent behavior behind the excuse of it being part of the ‘creative process.’ The creative process cannot and does not give men in power complete impunity to abuse women like Ms. LaBella. We were confident we would prevail against Defendants on this frivolous motion, and we did. We anticipate Defendants will continue to employ similar tactics in an attempt to prevent their despicable conduct from ever reaching the eyes and ears of a jury. We won’t back down.”
Additional Press:
Kevin Costner Sexual Harassment Suit By ‘Horizon II’ Stuntwoman Will Continue, Judge Rules; Oscar Winner Plans ASAP Appeal
Kevin Costner came up quite short today in his bid to have Horizon IIstuntwoman Devyn LaBella’s sexual harassment and hostile workplace lawsuit tossed out. Still, while industry vet LaBella saw only two of her 10 claims against the Oscar winner dismissed, lawyers for Costner are already promising late Thursday to file a fast appeal.
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