Moments before Gooding Jr.’s civil trial was scheduled to commence, the settlement was disclosed.
Cuba Gooding Jr. settled a decade-old assault lawsuit with a woman in a New York City hotel, court documents show.
A federal court in New York was about to commence jury selection for a civil trial.
However, a court calendar entry declared “TRIAL CANCELLED” few minutes after jurors were supposed to convene.
The clause continued, “Reason for cancellation (on consent): the parties have resolved the matter.”
Judge Paul Crotty ordered her to reveal her identify last week.
Gooding Jr., 55, asserted through his attorneys that his encounter with the woman at a nearby restaurant was consensual.
The actor, who won an Academy Award for his performance in the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, was accused of meeting the woman in Manhattan, convincing her to join him at a hotel, and convincing her to stop by his room so he could change clothes.
In her lawsuit, the woman claimed that Gooding Jr. then assaulted her in his room.
Gooding Jr.’s solicitors insisted that it was consensual sexual activity and that she boasted about having sex with a celebrity.
The lawsuit sought damages totaling $6 million (£4.8 million).
Authorities allege that Gooding Jr. has committed sexual misconduct against more than thirty other women. Including unsolicited kissing, groping, and other inappropriate conduct.
Last week, the judge appeared to strengthen the woman’s position at trial and in settlement negotiations by allowing three women to testify that Gooding Jr. allegedly subjected them to sudden sexual assaults or attempted sexual assaults in social settings such as festivals, bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.
Kelsey Harbert testified at trial that Gooding Jr. fondled her at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge in Times Square in 2019.
After pleading guilty in New York state court last year, Gooding Jr. avoided jail time and a criminal record. Ms. Harbert stated that never having her day in court was “more disappointing than words can express.”
Gooding Jr., who has appeared in films such as Boyz N the Hood and Radio, was permitted to plead guilty to a misdemeanor in April 2022, confessing that in 2018 he forcibly kissed a worker at a New York nightclub.
Gooding Jr. was permitted to withdraw his guilty plea and plead guilty to a non-criminal harassment violation in exchange for staying out of trouble and completing six months of alcohol and behavioral counseling, thereby expunging his criminal record and preventing further penalties.
