Businessman Alki David ordered to pay $8.4 million in sexual assault case
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A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday awarded $8.38 million to former account executive Elizabeth Taylor in her sexual assault, battery and harassment case against hologram businessman Alkiviades “Alki” David.
The jury ordered David and his media companies FilmOn TV and Hologram USA to pay punitive and compensatory damages to Taylor, who worked at FilmOn TV in 2015. David — known for running a hologram company that projected images of deceased entertainers — previously lost multiple other sexual misconduct cases brought against him, which have cost him and his businesses about $70 million combined.
Taylor and her former co-worker Chasity Jones sued the self-appointed ambassador for the "wronged" men of the #MeToo movement for sexual assault, battery and harassment in February 2017.
Read more: Meet Alki David: The self-appointed ambassador for the 'wronged' men of the #MeToo movement
The complaint alleges that David repeatedly touched and groped Taylor without her consent, held her upside down by her ankles and carried her across the office with her underwear exposed in the presence of other staff members and tied her to a chair with a computer wire, among other accusations. The lawsuit also alleges that Taylor was fired the day she reported that she had been sexually harassed by David.
"This was a huge win for a very deserving woman," Taylor's attorney Lisa Bloom said in a statement provided Thursday to The Times.
"The jury reached a unanimous 12-0 verdict ... and awarded us almost $8.4 million both to compensate Elizabeth for the pain and suffering she endured, and to punish Mr. David for his cruel treatment of her over the years, including after she left the company. ... Few victims can persevere through our agonizingly slow legal system, but Elizabeth remained strong and steadfast."
Read more: Billionaire Alki David faces $8.25-million verdict in sexual battery case
In a statement provided Thursday to The Times, David's attorney Dana Cole indicated that his client intends to appeal the verdict.
"This verdict, like several others against Mr. David, was the result of passion and prejudice against him, and particularly his inability to be personally present in court due to visa restrictions," Cole said. "All of these issues will be addressed on appeal."
In April 2019, a California jury awarded Jones $11.1 million in her sexual battery and harassment case against David.
That fall, a Los Angeles jury awarded $8.25 million in compensatory damages to Mahim Khan, a former production assistant at FilmOn TV and Alki David Productions Inc. who sued David for battery, sexual battery and sexual harassment. Days later, the same jury ordered David to pay an additional $50 million in punitive damages.
Times staff writer Stacy Perman and news researcher Scott Wilson contributed to this report.
Read more: After sexual assault: A guide to the exams, your rights and your choices
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
