Cuba Gooding Jr. has ignored a lawsuit filed against him by a woman who accused him of raping her. Now, a federal judge said the actor could owe millions of dollars to the accuser. 

U.S. District Judge Paul Crotty's ruling on Thursday said that Cuba Gooding Jr. had no attorney listed on the docket and had lost the case by default, Law and Crime reported. Crotty has left the door open in granting the woman's request for a total of $6 million in damages.

In violation of New York City's Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law (VGM), the anonymous woman claimed that Cuba Gooding Jr. raped her. She asked for $2 million in compensatory damages and $4 million in punitive damages.

Crotty has delivered his ruling on the grounds that the 53-year-old actor failed to appear even after being properly served, indicating willful refusal to participate in the lawsuit.

The judge further noted that he could not evaluate whether Gooding would have a meritorious defense in his absence, and since the case has been on the docket for nearly a year, waiting for him any longer would be unfair to his accuser. 

While the default judgment is essentially a judicial acknowledgment of the actor's liability, the judge halted on ruling on damages, saying the court would have to look into the matter further.

Crotty noted that the woman's declaration, discussing her mental and emotional problems after the alleged rape, provides "some basis for this request." However, he said it was not enough for the court to decide at this moment that "these amounts are warranted."

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Rape Case of Cuba Gooding Jr.

Crotty had ordered Cuba Gooding Jr. to appear and participate in the case by September 7, after which he would decide on damages. The judge has ruled for the plaintiff's request to proceed in the case under the Jane Doe pseudonym.

He also granted the plaintiff's request to seal two declarations that revealed the woman's real name and the name of another woman who claimed that the actor sexually assaulted her.

This was not the first time that Gooding had received a default judgment issued against him. Attorney Mark Heller, representing the actor in the criminal case, said the events alleged in the lawsuit never happened and suggested the plaintiff enjoys the attention she's getting in the publicity and notoriety of Gooding's case.

According to Crotty, the damages would be decided after hearing the arguments of the two sides. The woman initially sued Cuba Gooding Jr. in August 2020. It was dismissed and then quickly reopened in March over a technical issue, USA Today reported.

Crotty said in his order that the actor was served court papers on April 22 and had failed to respond to an initial May 13 court deadline.

The actor allegedly violated three women in three different incidents in 2018 and 2019. This was included in his criminal case being tried in a state court in New York.

One of the women said Cuba Gooding Jr. pinched her buttocks, while another woman said the actor squeezed her breast. Gooding has pleaded not guilty.

Sexual Assault Allegations Against the Actor

Jane Doe alleged that Cuba Gooding Jr. raped her without protection after she met him in a Greenwich Village VIP lounge in 2013. The Oscar winner allegedly lured her to his hotel room under false pretenses, Fox News reported.

The woman reportedly insisted on leaving the room to meet her friend downstairs, and the actor starting undressing in front of her.

Cuba Gooding Jr. had also allegedly blocked the door. He then pushed her onto the bed and did the act without any consent. The suit further noted that the actor had allegedly raped the woman vaginally and anally despite pleading for him to stop.

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 Written by: Mary Webber

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