Reprinted from Deadline Hollywood by David Robb on August 12, 2020.
A federal judge has denied WME’s and CAA’s motions to dismiss the remainder of the WGA’s fraud and price-fixing allegations, sending the case to trial to determine whether agency packaging fees are legal.
In his 17-page ruling Wednesday (read it here), US District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr. denied the agencies’ motions to dismiss the WGA’s claims for breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud, violation of California’s Cartwright Act, and violation of California’s Unfair Competition Law. The judge also denied the agencies’ motion to dismiss the WGA’s representative claim for constructive fraud and claims filed by individual guild members for constructive fraud.
The WGA East and West first sued the agencies in April 2019, but on April 27, 2020, the court granted the agencies’ motions to dismiss large portions of the WGA East and West’s case, including their claims for federal price-fixing, violation of the Corrupt Organization Act, federal and state group boycott, breach of fiduciary duty and constructive fraud, individual members’ claims of constructive fraud and Unfair Competition Law claims brought by the guilds. …
