Lawyers for Harvey Weinstein and women who have accused him of sexual misconduct are working with insurance companies and the New York attorney general’s office in an attempt to reach a sweeping settlement of all civil suits pending against the disgraced producer and his former film studio, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mediation sessions are scheduled for two days in early November, the people said, making it the largest effort to date to resolve more than a dozen sexual-misconduct legal actions faced by Mr. Weinstein around the globe. Also expected at the mediation are lawyers for Miramax and Weinstein Co. co-founder Bob Weinstein, who have been named as defendants in some lawsuits, the people said.
A major goal of the talks, which are still in early stages, is to create a victims fund.
At stake is if, and how much, some of the more than 80 women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault will be compensated. Whether Mr. Weinstein’s alleged victims would be paid has been an open question since the business of Weinstein Co., the studio he co-founded with his brother, began to deteriorate last year. The studio filed for bankruptcy in March.
The negotiations include lawyers representing many parties with different interests and may not result in a settlement. The current gulf among the parties is huge, said the people familiar with the matter, with the alleged victims’ lawyers asking for more than $100 million and the insurers offering to pay a fraction of that. Among the challenges is how to compensate women who accuse Mr. Weinstein of abuse but haven’t filed legal claims, the people said.
Settling civil lawsuits would limit legal expenses that could eat into payments to Mr. Weinstein’s alleged victims. The alleged victims’ claims could also face legal obstacles, including statute of limitations issues, making settling early a pragmatic option for all involved.
Any possible settlement of civil suits wouldn’t impact the criminal charges that Mr. Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty, faces in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.
A spokeswoman for Attorney General Barbara Underwood said the office’s civil-rights lawsuit, which was filed in February, remains active and the investigation is ongoing. “As has been the case from the start, our priorities include ensuring that victims are sufficiently compensated, employees are protected moving forward and perpetrators and enablers of the misconduct are not unjustly enriched,” the spokeswoman said.
Lawyers who filed two proposed class-action suits and who are also expected to attend the mediation session didn’t respond to requests for comment. A judge dismissed the suits but the lawyers have said they plan to file revised versions.
A spokesman for lawyer Elior Shiloh, who represents Mr. Weinstein, said, “We are actively defending ourselves against claims made against Mr. Weinstein.” Mr. Weinstein has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.
Insurance companies including Chubb and Travelers Cos . have filed their own lawsuits against Mr. Weinstein, arguing their policies don’t cover his legal expenses. A Chubb spokesman declined to comment. A Travelers spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Lawyers for Bob Weinstein and Weinstein Co. declined to comment. A lawyer for Miramax didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The pending lawsuits and claims against Mr. Weinstein have been filed in jurisdictions including New York, California, Canada and the U.K. The plaintiffs include actress Kadian Noble, whose suit accuses Mr. Weinstein of sex trafficking; Sandeep Rehal, a personal assistant to Mr. Weinstein who claims her boss sexually harassed her; and producer Alexandra Canosa, who claims Mr. Weinstein sexually harassed and assaulted her for years.
Some of the claims haven’t been previously reported, including allegations that Mr. Weinstein sexually assaulted an aspiring film producer in 2006 and two other women in 2017. Lawyers for these women outlined their clients’ allegations in confidential letters sent to the company, legal filings show.
The attorney general’s lawsuit against Weinstein Co. accuses its executives and board of failing to protect employees from a hostile work environment and Mr. Weinstein’s demands for sexual conduct in exchange for career advancement.
Write to Corinne Ramey at Corinne.Ramey@wsj.com and Jonathan Randles at Jonathan.Randles@wsj.com