- LOS ANGELES: Lawyers for Casey Affleck and one of the women suing him for sexual harassment during the shoot of his Joaquin Phoenix documentary have filed court papers extending a key deadline in the case by a month.
Could that mean the parties are talking settlement? Affleck attorney Marty Singer said that no settlement negotiations are under way. And Brian Procel, the lawyer who represents producer Amanda White and cinematographer Magdalena Gorka, declined to comment. But White, the first to sue Affleck for $2 million on July 23, was scheduled to submit her opposition brief on Monday to Affleck's motion to move the case from Los Angeles Superior Court to private arbitration. That deadline has now been pushed back a month to Sept. 9. No reason was given in the stipulation. Extensions in heated litigation are often negotiated to provide time to work out differences and settle a case. But just as often, attorneys seek extra time merely because they need it to prepare a brief.

