Writers Guild Brings Four Large Agencies to Court for Packaging Fees – Deadline

The WGA announced Wednesday that it has filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against the four major packaging agencies, accusing them of violating federal and federal laws with respect to fiduciary duties to their clients. -écrivains.

Tony Segall, General Counsel of the Writers Guild, said at a press conference at WGA West headquarters in Los Angeles that the lawsuit against CAA, WME, ICM Partners and UTA argued two arguments : that packaging costs were encroaching on state laws regarding violating federal unfair competition laws.

Specifically, the lawsuit cites the anti-kickback provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act. Under this law, an employee's representatives can not receive money from an employer, Segall said.

"The packaging costs caused considerable financial damage to the guilds and their members, including the individual plaintiffs," read the lawsuit. The applicants listed are WGA West and WGA East, Patricia Carr, Ashley Gable, Barbara Hall, Deric A. Hughes, George Johannessen, Deirdre Mangan, David Simon and Meredith Stein.

The packaging is allowed in the franchise agreement between the WGA and agencies since 1976. But Segall said on Wednesday that "the guild was uncomfortable with the packaging ever since". He added that in the mid-1970s, the guild had sued the William Morris Agency, in which an agreement was reached that allowed the guild to attempt to regulate the packaging. This was, however, "totally unsuccessful", he said, and in recent years, packaging agencies "have dropped the 10% commission model" and now rely almost entirely on packaging costs.

"It is now time to ban it altogether," Segall said.

The guild and talent agencies set up by the Association of Talent Agents have set no date for the resumption of discussions in their stalemate on a new franchise agreement. Formal negotiations were broken on Friday, after which the guild ordered its members to fire their agents who refuse to sign his code of conduct.

He added that "to date, thousands of writers have signed letters" ending the services of their agents who refused to sign the code, which was unanimously approved by union members. It prohibits packaging costs and prohibits agencies from being affiliated with production entities through parent companies.

Prior to the talks' break on Friday, the WGA and ATA each made minor concessions, but remain far apart on each of these two key issues, which according to the guild are conflicts of interest.