A $19 MILLION US dollar (about €16.6 million) settlement between Harvey Weinstein and some of his accusers has been rejected by a judge.

US District Judge Alvin K Hellerstein in Manhattan said Weinstein’s accusers in the proposed class-action settlement were too varied to be grouped together.

Lawyers for several women who had opposed the deal praised what they described as the judge’s swift rejection of a one-sided proposal.

A spokesman for Weinstein did not immediately comment. A lawyer for his companies declined comment.

A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James, who announced the tentative agreement on 30 June, said her office is reviewing the decision and determining its next steps.

“Our office has been fighting tirelessly to provide these brave women with the justice they are owed and will continue to do so,” Morgan Rubin said in a written statement.

The deal to settle lawsuits brought by James and a Chicago lawyer on behalf of multiple women would have provided between $7,500 and $750,000 to some women who accused Weinstein of sexually abusing them.

The 68-year-old former Hollywood producer was convicted earlier this year of rape and sexual assault against two women.

Weinstein was diagnosed in March with the coronavirus just days after he was moved to the state’s maximum-security Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo to begin serving his 23-year prison sentence.