$100 Million “House of Cards” Trial Underway, with Kevin Spacey Set to Testify He Was Too Sick to Film Final Season: Report
$100 Million “House of Cards” Trial Underway, with Kevin Spacey Set to Testify He Was Too Sick to Film Final Season: Report
Bailey RichardsSun, March 1, 2026 at 9:09 PM UTC
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Kevin Spacey in a ‘House of Cards’ sceneCredit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix -
The production company behind House of Cards is seeking $100 million from its insurer over losses from the Netflix series’ final season
The insurance dispute has culminated in a trial that will soon involve testimony from star Kevin Spacey, who the production company argues was too sick to return for season 6
Spacey's cooperation reportedly comes after the company agreed to reduce the $31 million arbitration award he owes them — after he was fired amid alleged sexual misconduct — to $1 million
The production company behind House of Cards is reportedly set to present Kevin Spacey's testimony in a last-ditch effort to win back losses from the Netflix series’ final season.
Media Rights Capital (MRC), which produced House of Cards, has been gearing up for a trial in a third and likely final effort to seek $100 million from its insurer, Fireman’s Fund, this time with a new strategy centering on Spacey, 66, as a witness, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter published Saturday, Feb. 28.
After two failed attempts at pressing its claims, the latest in late 2023, MRC’s new strategy in the insurance dispute will involve testimony from Spacey — who was previously ordered to pay production company $31 million in a contract dispute after he was fired amid alleged sexual misconduct behind the scenes — that he could not return to the series in 2017 due to illness, according to THR. Spacey’s House of Cards character Francis Underwood was written out of season 6.
After MRC reduced the arbitration award Spacey owed to $1 million, the disgraced actor not only turned over his medical records but also agreed to declare in court that he may have killed himself if he had to return for season 6, THR reports. “Further details are sealed,” the outlet notes.
Kevin Spacey in February 2026Credit: Tristar Media/Getty
The production company was covered for losses in connection with a “sickness” under their policy with Fireman’s Fund. They argue that Spacey was unavailable to film House of Cards due to an alleged sex addiction — having checked himself into a rehabilitation facility following accusations of sexual assault and harassment — and that his absence from season 6 is directly linked to the losses they experienced, per THR.
In October 2017, actor Anthony Rapp alleged in a Buzzfeed report that Spacey made a sexual advance on him when he was 14. More than 30 allegations followed, and in early November 2017, the House of Cards actor sought treatment and Netflix cut ties with him. Spacey was later found not liable for battery in connection to Rapp's sexual assault claims.
Fireman’s Fund, meanwhile, argues that the losses MRC experienced can be attributed to the media fallout that followed the allegations against Spacey, and that MRC’s suspension of Spacey was exclusively a business decision, according to THR.
PEOPLE has reached out to lawyers for MRC and Spacey for comment.
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In the forthcoming trial, the jury will have to consider an alleged discrepancy between what Spacey’s lawyer and agent told MRC about whether the actor — whose House of Cards character Underwood was president and seeking re-election by the end of season 5 — could return to work, THR reports, citing the court proceedings.
According to the outlet, Spacey’s agent told the CEO of MRC that the actor was “sick” and going away for a “very long time” — at least six months — in early November and, just a couple days later, a lawyer for the star told MRC that he was “available, willing and able to provide all of the services” required under his contract at the time.
Kevin Spacey in a 'House of Cards' sceneCredit: Nathaniel Bell/Netflix
The jury will also consider the testimony of new witness Spacey, who is expected to say that he was not able to work in the wake of the 2017 allegations, and that he needed continued treatment for his illness at that time, according to THR.
Ahead of the trial, MRC also advanced evidence that it argues demonstrates that the actor could not and should not have returned to work on the show, per the outlet.
Jurors will also have to consider Netflix’s role in House of Cards season 6, as the streamer had “tiebreaker” rights over the show’s scripts, storyline and casting under its distribution deal, and the parties dispute whether Netflix exercised them in the wake of the allegations against Spacey, THR reported, citing court filings.
Spacey recently returned to television in an Italian comedy series Minimarket, in which he plays himself. It marks his first performance since his removal from House of Cards.
This year, the actor is also expected to appear in court to face civil claims from three men who allege he sexually assaulted them between 2000 and 2013, according to the BBC. Spacey is widely reported to have denied any wrongdoing.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
