NY Supreme Court justice dismisses fraud lawsuit against Steve Mnuchin

A New York Supreme Court justice granted a motion on Tuesday to dismiss Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin from a fraud lawsuit stemming from his business dealings with a film production company, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Mnuchin was first dragged into the lawsuit by RKA Film Financing in 2015 for his role as a co-chairman of Relativity Media’s board. RKA alleged in the suit that Relativity executives had misled it into investing tens of millions of dollars in the company and then misused the funds. Relativity CEO Ryan Kavanaugh is also named in the suit.

But Mnuchin, once a major investor in the production company, stepped down from Relativity’s board just months after joining. Relativity declared bankruptcy in 2015.

Justice Charles Ramos wrote on Tuesday that the lawsuit against Mnuchin “does not sufficiently establish” that the Treasury secretary was complicit or aware of Relativity potentially misleading RKA.

{mosads}”RKA alleges that Mnuchin learned of Kavanaugh’s scheme to market a supposedly low risk P&A facility to investors and to subsequently misappropriate those funds during his time as a non-executive director of Relativity,” Ramos wrote.

“However, absent substantive allegations that Mnuchin was responsible for, aware of, or participated in the purported fraud surrounding the Funding Agreement, liability cannot attach,” he continued.

“Further, RKA does not sufficiently establish that Mnuchin was aware of the alleged misrepresentations and their implications. Mnuchin’s personal friendship with Kavanaugh is insufficient to establish awareness or liability.”

Mnuchin previously filed to have the lawsuit against him dismissed in February.