Kevin Spacey Lawsuits: Charges, Trials, and Settlements

The lawsuits and criminal cases against Kevin Spacey span nearly a decade and two countries, and every case that reached a verdict ended in his favor, though the cost of defending them left him financially ruined. Since the first public allegations in 2017, Spacey has faced a dropped criminal charge in Massachusetts, a jury verdict clearing him in Anthony Rapp’s New York civil suit, a full acquittal on nine counts at a London criminal trial, a dismissed civil suit brought by a Los Angeles massage therapist, a roughly $31 million arbitration award tied to House of Cards that was later cut to $1 million, and a March 2026 out-of-court settlement with three UK civil claimants.

The Nantucket Criminal Charge

The first criminal case grew out of a July 2016 incident on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, where the teenage son of former news anchor Heather Unruh alleged Spacey groped him at a bar. On December 24, 2018, prosecutors charged Spacey with felony indecent assault and battery.¹

The case collapsed before trial. At a July 8, 2019 hearing, the accuser invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after questions arose about a missing cellphone the defense wanted for potentially exculpatory text messages. On July 17, 2019, District Attorney Michael O’Keefe dropped the charge, citing “the unavailability of the complaining witness.”¹

Anthony Rapp’s Civil Suit in New York

Actor Anthony Rapp went public in October 2017 with an allegation that Spacey made an unwanted sexual advance in 1986, when Rapp was 14 and Spacey was 26, at a Manhattan apartment party.² In September 2020, Rapp and a second plaintiff identified only as C.D. sued Spacey in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The suit was made possible by New York’s Child Victims Act, which opened a window for victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue regardless of whether the statute of limitations had expired.³

Judge Lewis Kaplan dismissed C.D.’s claims in 2021, ruling that C.D., who was seeking $40 million and had already spoken publicly to the media, could not proceed anonymously because he had put his own “credibility in issue.”⁴

Rapp’s case went to trial in October 2022. He sought $40 million in damages for battery and testified that Spacey picked him up, placed him on a bed, and climbed on top of him. Spacey denied the encounter ever happened and told the jury he had no sexual interest in Rapp or any child. Defense attorney Jennifer Keller challenged Rapp’s account by pointing to inconsistencies about the apartment layout and suggesting the memory may have been colored by a scene from a play Rapp performed in.⁵

On October 20, 2022, the jury deliberated for about 80 minutes before unanimously finding Spacey not liable, concluding Rapp’s team had failed to prove Spacey “touched a sexual or intimate part” of him.⁵ In December 2022, the court ordered Rapp to pay Spacey $39,089 in costs.⁶ Spacey, testifying, said of his 2017 public apology: “I’ve learned a lesson, which is never apologize for something you didn’t do.”²

The London Criminal Trial

In June 2022, the UK Crown Prosecution Service charged Spacey with nine sexual offenses involving four men. The charges included seven counts of sexual assault and two counts of more serious sexual offenses, tied to incidents alleged between 2004 and 2013, the years Spacey ran London’s Old Vic Theatre.⁷

The complainants described a range of alleged conduct. One said Spacey grabbed his hand and forced it onto his crotch while driving. Another said Spacey grabbed his crotch with painful force at a charity event. A third said Spacey kissed his neck and grabbed his crotch at a party, telling him to “be cool.” The most serious accusation came from an aspiring actor who alleged Spacey invited him to his London apartment for career advice, drugged him, and sexually assaulted him.⁷

Spacey pleaded not guilty and testified that the encounters were either consensual or never happened. On July 26, 2023, after roughly 12 hours and 26 minutes of deliberation, a jury of nine men and three women returned not-guilty verdicts on all nine counts.⁸

The Los Angeles Massage Therapist Lawsuit

In September 2018, an anonymous Los Angeles massage therapist sued Spacey in California state court, alleging that during a 2016 session in Malibu, Spacey forced the therapist to touch his genitals, pulled him into a forced kiss, and refused to let him leave.⁹ The case was moved to federal court in January 2019.

The plaintiff died unexpectedly in September 2019. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office declined to pursue criminal charges, saying the “allegations cannot be proved without participation of the victim.”¹⁰ On December 30, 2019, the civil lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice after the plaintiff’s estate agreed to the dismissal. Spacey’s attorney, Jennifer Keller, said the actor “paid no money” to resolve the suit.¹¹

The House of Cards Arbitration and Insurance Trial

The largest financial claim against Spacey did not come from an accuser. It came from MRC, the production company behind House of Cards, which fired him after the 2017 allegations and then took him to arbitration, arguing he had breached his contract by violating anti-harassment policies.

In October 2020, an arbitrator sided with MRC and awarded roughly $29.5 million in damages plus costs and fees, bringing the total to nearly $31 million. The arbitrator found that Spacey’s sexually predatory behavior toward five crew members constituted a “material breach” of his acting and executive producing agreements. Spacey challenged the award, arguing the arbitrator exceeded his powers and relied on improper evidence. On August 4, 2022, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mel Red Recana rejected those arguments and confirmed the full amount, writing that Spacey “fails to demonstrate that this is even a close case.”¹²

The arrangement then changed dramatically. In December 2023, MRC and Spacey struck a deal under which Spacey would pay just $1 million in installments equal to 10% of his after-tax income, and the rest of the judgment, which had grown to roughly $36.5 million with interest, would be canceled. In return, Spacey agreed to cooperate in MRC’s separate lawsuit against its insurer, Fireman’s Fund, by testifying, submitting to medical examinations, and producing his medical records.¹³ MRC’s theory was that Spacey’s departure had been caused by a medical condition, specifically sex addiction, that should trigger a $150 million cast insurance policy.¹⁴

The insurance trial opened in Santa Monica in early 2026. Spacey ended up undercutting MRC’s own theory, telling the jury he was “available, willing and able” to work, disputing the accuracy of medical records from the Meadows rehabilitation facility, and saying he did not believe a diagnosis of “sexually compulsive behavior” was correct. He suggested MRC had removed him because of the shame his alleged misconduct brought on the show and Netflix.¹⁵ In March 2026, the jury sided with Fireman’s Fund, finding that Spacey’s alleged illness was not the primary reason for his exit and that the insurer owed nothing.¹⁶

The 2026 UK Civil Settlement

After the 2023 acquittal, three men pursued civil claims against Spacey in London’s High Court. Two had also been complainants in the criminal trial. Their allegations covered 2000 to 2013:

A claimant known as LNP alleged Spacey “deliberately assaulted” him on approximately 12 occasions between 2000 and 2005.
A claimant known as GHI alleged an assault following a 2008 workshop at the Old Vic and claimed psychiatric damage and financial loss.
Ruari Cannon, the only claimant to waive anonymity, alleged Spacey groped him at a theatre after-party at the Savoy Hotel and at the Old Vic’s bar, with one incident following the 2013 press night of Sweet Bird of Youth.¹⁷

On March 19, 2026, it was reported that Spacey had reached an out-of-court settlement with all three men. The terms were not disclosed, and the High Court proceedings, which had been scheduled for trial later that year, were frozen.¹⁸ At a hearing earlier that month, lawyers for the claimants had sought to introduce evidence from seven additional witnesses alleging similar conduct.¹⁷ Spacey continued to deny the allegations, saying: “Each time I have been given the time and a proper forum to defend myself, the allegations have failed under scrutiny and I have been exonerated.”

Cannon separately reached a confidential settlement with the Old Vic Theatre itself, reported on March 4, 2026. That settlement was made “without any admission of liability.”¹⁹

What the Lawsuits Cost Him

Even without a lost verdict, the litigation drained Spacey’s finances. In a June 2024 interview with Piers Morgan, he said he had no money left, owed “many millions” in legal fees, and was facing foreclosure on his Baltimore home.²⁰ The 9,000-square-foot waterfront condominium, which he purchased in 2017 for $5.65 million, sold at foreclosure auction on July 25, 2024, for $3.24 million. He had defaulted on his $20,000 monthly mortgage payments.²¹ By November 2025, Spacey told the Telegraph he was “officially homeless,” living in hotels and Airbnbs, and described his legal costs over the preceding seven years as “astronomical.”²²

In the same Morgan interview, Spacey acknowledged for the first time that he had been “too handsy” in the past, describing his conduct as “touching someone sexually in a way that I didn’t know at the time they didn’t want.” He rejected the word “grope,” calling it “a very odd word,” and said he was “150% prepared to take accountability” for what he admitted to, while continuing to deny the allegations that went to trial.²⁰

1
CBS News. Kevin Spacey Criminal Sexual Assault Case Charges Dropped
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NPR. Kevin Spacey Anthony Rapp Verdict
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Rolling Stone. Kevin Spacey Lawsuit Sexual Assault Anthony Rapp
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Forbes. Anonymous Accuser Dismissed From Lawsuit Against Kevin Spacey
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Variety. Kevin Spacey Anthony Rapp Loses $40 Million Sexual Battery Lawsuit
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New York Post. Kevin Spacey Accuser Anthony Rapp Must Pay $39K After Loss
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CNN. Kevin Spacey Trial Jury Verdict
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Los Angeles Times. Jury Acquits Kevin Spacey in London on Sexual Assault Charges
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CBS News. John Doe Who Accused Kevin Spacey of Sexual Assault Dies
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Los Angeles Times. Kevin Spacey Sexual Assault Case Dismissed
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NBC Los Angeles. Lawsuit Accusing Actor Kevin Spacey of Malibu Sex Assault Dismissed
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NBC Los Angeles. Judge Confirms Nearly $31 Million Arbitration Award Against Kevin Spacey
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Variety. Kevin Spacey Pay House of Cards Settlement
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Hollywood Reporter. Kevin Spacey House of Cards Legal Court MRC Insurer
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Hollywood Reporter. House of Cards Spacey Trial Final Season
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Variety. House of Cards Producer $29 Million Trial Kevin Spacey
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BBC. Kevin Spacey Settles With Three Men
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Variety. Kevin Spacey Settles Sexual Assault Accusers Before London Trial
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BBC. Ruari Cannon Settlement Old Vic Kevin Spacey Assault Allegations
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CNN. Kevin Spacey Morgan Interview
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Baltimore Sun. Kevin Spacey Auction $3 Million
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Variety. Kevin Spacey First Series House of Cards Comedy Minimarket