The Cost of Justice in the Rubin Civil Verdict

When a Manhattan jury awarded Howard Rubin’s accusers $3.85 million in damages in November 2023 — later followed by a $4.8 million attorney’s fee award in February 2025 — the headlines read like victory laps.

On paper, nearly $8.7 million shifted out of Rubin’s pocket. But behind the big number lies a more complicated calculation: what Rubin’s accusers actually gained, what they sacrificed to get it, and whether the juice was worth the squeeze.

The Financial Reality

Damages (Nov. 2023): $3.85 million.
Attorney fees (Feb. 2025): $4.8 million.
Net takeaway: Because the court ordered Rubin to pay the plaintiffs’ legal team directly, the lion’s share of the “win” bypasses the plaintiffs themselves. After splitting what remains and accounting for years of expenses, most will see only modest compensation.

And the money isn’t guaranteed. Rubin has already noticed his appeal. Appeals mean more lawyers, more fees, and more waiting. A judgment on paper is not a check in the bank.

The Hidden Costs

Privacy: When the court unsealed the plaintiffs’ names in 2019, the tabloids had a field day. By trial, every detail — from BDSM safe words to breast implant injuries — became part of the public record. Privacy, once lost, is unrecoverable.

Emotional toll: Several women testified about being shocked, gagged, or ignored when they begged Rubin to stop. Cross-examination forced them to relive those scenes in excruciating detail. Winning did not erase the retraumatization of the process.

Reputation: Defense lawyers probed their modeling careers, their sex work, their relationships. That’s how the adversarial system works — but it leaves scars that outlast the trial. Google searches will always drag the plaintiffs’ past into the present.

Time: The lawsuit began in 2017. Final judgment on fees came in 2025. That’s eight years of hearings, depositions, motions, continuances, and appeals. For plaintiffs, “winning” meant devoting nearly a decade of their lives to litigation.

The Upside Beyond Money

Validation: A federal jury declared Rubin a sex trafficker. That label now follows him everywhere — in headlines, in Google results, in the history books. Plaintiffs who endured years of being doubted now have a verdict that says: we believed you.

Deterrence: Rubin’s NDAs were supposed to silence women. Instead, they became exhibits at trial — a lesson to other powerful men who think paperwork is a shield against accountability.

Momentum: Civil victory gave prosecutors a tested record of credibility and pattern evidence.

Update: By September 2025, Rubin was facing a federal indictment. The civil case didn’t just punish him; it primed the criminal system to move.

Closure: For some plaintiffs, the point wasn’t money. It was to strip away Rubin’s aura of invincibility. On that front, they succeeded.

The Net Question

So was it worth it?

Financially: Not really. Most of the $8.7M went to lawyers. Plaintiffs won’t retire on this verdict.
Strategically: Absolutely. They forced open a door Rubin spent years trying to keep locked.
Symbolically: Enormously. In the battle of credibility, the jury chose their word over his. That’s a win no appeal can erase.

Bottom Line

The cost of justice in Rubin’s case was steep — lost privacy, emotional strain, years in the trenches, and little financial reward. But the plaintiffs achieved something larger than a payout: they showed that even men who build dungeons and bankroll silence cannot escape judgment forever.

Their victory wasn’t in the bank account. It was in the record books.

Follow Small Matter for deeper looks at how law, money, and power collide — and what justice really costs.