Director James Toback ordered to pay £1.68 billion dollars in sexual abuse trial

James Toback arrives at the 2014 AFI Fest in Los Angeles in 2014 (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

A New York jury has awarded 1.68 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) in damages to 40 women who accused writer and director James Toback of sexual abuse and other crimes over a span of 35 years, according to lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

The decision on Wednesday stems from a legal case filed in Manhattan in 2022 after New York state instituted a one-year window for people to file cases over sexual assault claims even if they took place decades ago.