Judge Chantal Tremblay orders Gilbert Rozon to pay $880,000 to eight of the nine complainants for sexual assaults committed against them.
After 10 months, the civil trial pitting the Quebec impresario against nine plaintiffs has come to an end.
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The 70-year-old Rozon is being sued for nearly $14 million in damages over allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.
He has denied the allegations, saying the women formed a coalition against him with the aim of financial gain.
Rozon stepped down from Just for Laughs in 2017 and later sold the company.
Nine women — Patricia Tulasne, Lyne Charlebois, Anne-Marie Charrette, Annick Charrette, Sophie Moreau, Danie Frenette, Guylaine Courcelles, Mary Sicari and Martine Roy — have filed lawsuits against him.
“Since the beginning we’ve been telling our truth, the truth,” Tulasne told reporters following the final day of hearings.
“When we hear the other side contradict us, it hurts, but I’m happy that I spoke. I’m liberated and I did what I had to do. The rest is not up to me.”
Changes adopted days before the trial began in December 2024 prohibit lawyers from asking questions suggesting an alleged victim’s sexual past or their decision to remain in contact with an alleged abuser undermines their credibility.
The amendments to the Quebec Civil Code establish a “presumption of irrelevance” for evidence based on myths and stereotypes recognized in criminal law.
Rozon’s lawyers challenged the new restrictions, but the plaintiffs later told the court they would not seek to invoke the provision.
—With files from The Canadian Press
