Julia Ormond Seeks Bench Warrant for Michael Ovitz After Epstein Deposition Walkout
Lawyers for Julia Ormond are asking a court to issue a bench warrant for Michael Ovitz after the CAA co-founder ended a deposition when questioning turned to Jeffrey Epstein. The move escalates an already contentious legal fight tied to Ormond’s 2023 lawsuit, which accuses CAA leadership of failing to warn her about Harvey Weinstein before a 1995 meeting she says led to her assault.
During the deposition, Ovitz was asked about his continued association with Epstein after the financier’s conviction for sex crimes. He refused to answer, saying, “I’m not going to discuss anything about Jeffrey Epstein,” and later stood up, pointed at Ormond’s lawyer, and declared, “I’m done with this. OK?” He added, “You are out of line.”
Ormond’s legal team argues that the walkout was not an isolated flare-up but part of a broader pattern of resistance to the proceedings. They say Ovitz previously ignored a subpoena and failed to appear for a deposition in November, and they are now asking the court to compel his return and order him to produce documents related to his communications with Weinstein.
The lawsuit centers on Ormond’s claim that CAA’s top brass turned a blind eye to Weinstein’s conduct and did not warn her before the 1995 meeting. Ovitz was CAA’s chairman in the period immediately preceding the alleged incident. In the deposition, he said he would have investigated any allegation of sexual misconduct against one of his clients and that CAA “surely wouldn’t have done business” with Weinstein if such claims had been substantiated. He also said, “I didn’t like his methodology of business. He was a bully.”
CAA has said the case does not concern Ovitz and that the agency is paying his legal fees. The matter gained added attention earlier this year, when Justice Department materials released in 2026 included 2012 emails showing that Ovitz and Epstein planned to meet in Manhattan and off the coast of St. Barts.
The request for a bench warrant underscores how closely the case now links two separate scandals: the allegations surrounding Weinstein and the long shadow of Epstein’s network. For Ormond, the deposition dispute is another attempt to force answers in a case that has already stretched across years and institutions.
