"Truth" Lawsuit-you be the Judge
Donation protected
Hi everyone – thank you first and foremost for taking the time to read this. Aside from my closer network of friends and family, most of you may know me as the actor Rob Moretti from movies like Truth, Crutch and other LGBT and mainstream cinema.
Honestly, I have been quite quit this year on social media due to major events that have transpired in my life during 2015, including the suicide of my ex-husband. It is with great humility that I share the following.
One of the major things I could not speak publicly about is that for the last year and a half I have been going through a huge lawsuit over my last movie Truth.
Monday, March 14, 2016 the case settled in a NJ courtroom just before jury selection was to begin. What I have been left with are mounting legal bills and a due settlement. What I take away from this experience is that the law and justice are two very different things. Here’s why.
The case was regarding an accident that one of the producers had just before we began shooting. At the end of October 2012, NJ was hit by a major hurricane Super storm Sandy. We were scheduled to begin shooting November 1st, with a majority of the movie shot on location in a house we rented in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
On October 23, 2012 we signed the rental agreement and issued the company that owned the home insurance coverage of 1 million dollars. The policy was for the filming period of one month, which went into effect November 1st.
Then, 3 days later, on October 26, 2012, the hurricane hit. Not knowing what damage was done to the area and property, we requested and were granted the keys to the property on October 30th by the rental agent to check for storm damage, and drop off craft service supplies. The sole intension was to see if we needed to push back the shoot as we had people flying in from around the county.
After picking up the keys from her, we went over to the house. From first glance, the property sustained some damage, but was not flooded and in good shape to move forward. Within 30 seconds of arriving at the property, the producer and I walked into the front door, through the kitchen and out onto the back deck. He was in front of me and took one step onto the staircase leading to the lower backyard and the entire thing detached from the deck and collapsed with him on it. Through this horrific accident, he suffered a broken ankle, which required 3 surgeries. Unfortunately, he was unable to continue his role as producer on the film, yet principal photography began November 12th.
He filed a lawsuit with the company that owned the home at some point in 2013, along with all of the listing agencies that were involved with the rental of the property, including some of the biggest real estate companies in the US.
A year passes and that company turned around and sued my company. Thus began a year and a half of paying lawyers for interrogatories, depositions, discovery, etc. My attorney filed a Motion to Dismiss twice, since I clearly did nothing wrong and this was purely an accident. However, the Judge didn’t see it that way and left it up to a jury to decide. Strangely, the rental agent that turned over the keys to us was dismissed from the case without any recourse.
(Text message from one of the realtors to property owner marked as an exhibit)
What I am asking for help with is just a fraction of what I have spent so far. In order for the case to settle, I was advised to personally pay into a 6-figure settlement, since my company and the film have no real monetary assets. Although this is devastating to me, it ultimately is better than the monies I would have had to pay if we did go to trial, which could have lasted up to two weeks.
While I remain proud of the film itself, it has played a part of some of the most painful events in my life: my divorce, the suicide of my ex-husband, and piracy of the movie at a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Despite all of this, I still remain a sober man of 19 years and counting. I am humbly asking for the support of friends, family and the fans of Truth to help me get through this.
I would so ever be grateful if you would join me in spreading word of this campaign by sharing it on social media to help reach my goal.
If anyone has any questions about this case, want to see any evidence, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you!
Honestly, I have been quite quit this year on social media due to major events that have transpired in my life during 2015, including the suicide of my ex-husband. It is with great humility that I share the following.
One of the major things I could not speak publicly about is that for the last year and a half I have been going through a huge lawsuit over my last movie Truth.
Monday, March 14, 2016 the case settled in a NJ courtroom just before jury selection was to begin. What I have been left with are mounting legal bills and a due settlement. What I take away from this experience is that the law and justice are two very different things. Here’s why.
The case was regarding an accident that one of the producers had just before we began shooting. At the end of October 2012, NJ was hit by a major hurricane Super storm Sandy. We were scheduled to begin shooting November 1st, with a majority of the movie shot on location in a house we rented in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
On October 23, 2012 we signed the rental agreement and issued the company that owned the home insurance coverage of 1 million dollars. The policy was for the filming period of one month, which went into effect November 1st.
Then, 3 days later, on October 26, 2012, the hurricane hit. Not knowing what damage was done to the area and property, we requested and were granted the keys to the property on October 30th by the rental agent to check for storm damage, and drop off craft service supplies. The sole intension was to see if we needed to push back the shoot as we had people flying in from around the county.
After picking up the keys from her, we went over to the house. From first glance, the property sustained some damage, but was not flooded and in good shape to move forward. Within 30 seconds of arriving at the property, the producer and I walked into the front door, through the kitchen and out onto the back deck. He was in front of me and took one step onto the staircase leading to the lower backyard and the entire thing detached from the deck and collapsed with him on it. Through this horrific accident, he suffered a broken ankle, which required 3 surgeries. Unfortunately, he was unable to continue his role as producer on the film, yet principal photography began November 12th.
He filed a lawsuit with the company that owned the home at some point in 2013, along with all of the listing agencies that were involved with the rental of the property, including some of the biggest real estate companies in the US.
A year passes and that company turned around and sued my company. Thus began a year and a half of paying lawyers for interrogatories, depositions, discovery, etc. My attorney filed a Motion to Dismiss twice, since I clearly did nothing wrong and this was purely an accident. However, the Judge didn’t see it that way and left it up to a jury to decide. Strangely, the rental agent that turned over the keys to us was dismissed from the case without any recourse.
(Text message from one of the realtors to property owner marked as an exhibit)
What I am asking for help with is just a fraction of what I have spent so far. In order for the case to settle, I was advised to personally pay into a 6-figure settlement, since my company and the film have no real monetary assets. Although this is devastating to me, it ultimately is better than the monies I would have had to pay if we did go to trial, which could have lasted up to two weeks.
While I remain proud of the film itself, it has played a part of some of the most painful events in my life: my divorce, the suicide of my ex-husband, and piracy of the movie at a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Despite all of this, I still remain a sober man of 19 years and counting. I am humbly asking for the support of friends, family and the fans of Truth to help me get through this.
I would so ever be grateful if you would join me in spreading word of this campaign by sharing it on social media to help reach my goal.
If anyone has any questions about this case, want to see any evidence, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you!
Organizer
Rob Moretti
Organizer
Montclair, NJ