Legal News

Age bias suit on behalf of TV writers ends in $4.5M settlement

By Jason Siegel

A class action alleging that production studios, television networks and talent agencies routinely discriminate against older television writers has settled for $4.5 million, the first of 23 class actions to reach a resolution.

International Creative Management Inc. (ICM), one of 12 talent agencies facing the TV writer age discrimination class actions, agreed to the recent settlement, which involves hundreds of TV writers. ICM is the fourth largest talent agency representing TV writers.

The settlement is subject to the approval of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Emile Elias, who is overseeing all but one of the TV writer age discrimination class actions. The deal follows an appellate ruling in a separate case that the privacy rights of 7,700 members of the Writers Guild of America who objected to giving out statistical data that would have strengthened the claims in the TV writer age discrimination class actions, did not trump the rights of the plaintiffs in those cases. Cecile Alch, et al. v. Superior Court, No. B203726 (CA 2nd App. Dist.). The ruling reversed an earlier decision by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Wendell Mortimer Jr.

The ICM class action, filed by 150 named plaintiffs, alleged that talent agents systemically discriminated against older writers by refusing to refer them to networks and production studios. The class involves all TV writers who were 40 or older after Oct. 22, 1996.

As part of the settlement, ICM agreed to set up a task force to examine its representation practices and participate in a promotion program for older TV writers.

The TV writer age discrimination suits were filed eight years ago. The other 10 talent agencies being sued include Creative Artists Agency Inc. and William Morris Agency Inc. A dozen production studios and TV networks, such as CBS Corp., The Walt Disney Co., Vivendi's NBC Universal Inc. and Warner Bros., also face class actions.

Paul Sprenger, co-founder of Sprenger + Lang of Washington, was lead counsel in the ICM case and was joined by firm Managing Partner Steve Sprenger and Maia Caplan, a partner at Washington-based Kator Parks and Weiser. More than 40 lawyers at six law firms and groups in Los Angeles and Washington are involved in the TV writer age discrimination cases, including the AARP Foundation Litigation; Los Angeles-based Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dorhmann & Sommers; Katz, Marshall & Banks in Washington; and Los Angeles-based Blecher & Collins.

-- Amanda Bronstad
 

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on August 20, 2008 (boomark / email).