July 29, 2021
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Thursday found Cuba Gooding Jr liable in a civil lawsuit by a woman who accused the Oscar-winning actor of raping her twice in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013, after Gooding failed to respond to the accusations in court.
U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty in Manhattan granted a default judgment on Gooding’s liability to the plaintiff, known as Jane Doe, without addressing the merits of her accusations.
“Defendant has completely failed to engage with this case,” making his default “willful,” Crotty said.
Gooding, 53, will have a chance to argue that Doe deserves less than the $6 million she sought in her complaint last August, including for pain and suffering as well as punitive damages. Crotty ordered him to address the case by Sept. 7.
Representatives for Gooding did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Mr. Gooding failed to respond to the serious allegations made by our client,” Doe’s lawyer Gloria Allred said in a statement. “We look forward to the [damages] hearing.”
https://www.oann.com/new-york-judge-finds-cuba-gooding-jr-liable-in-rape-accusers-civil-lawsuit/