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While hearing arguments on the mega-agency’s injunction petition, U.S. District Court Judge André Birotte Jr. urged the parties to remain focused on the well-being of writers.
A California federal judge on Friday urged WME and the Writers Guild of America to resolve their dispute, the latest fight in the waning war between Hollywood talent agents and the WGA.
WME – the only major agency currently still standing – filed an injunction in November that would end the mandate for writers to fire all agents who failed to adhere to the WGA’s new rules regarding packaging charges and studio property. The legal battle, which began in April 2019, originally included the other major talent creation agencies – but since then UTA, ICM and CAA have all made deals with the guild and withdrawn their claims.
While WME maintains that the guild is using its power to engage in an illegal boycott and that U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. should step in to prevent irreparable harm to the agency, WGA has turned to a law of the work of 1932 which limits the ability of the federal court to grant an injunction in certain labor disputes.
These arguments were addressed during a hearing on Friday via Zoom, but Birotte began with a monologue encouraging the parties to settle and returned to this opinion frequently throughout the proceedings.
He says it seems the parties ultimately want the same thing, but just don’t agree on how to get it done.
“I hope you all keep this in mind as you go along,” Birotte said. “I worry, and I could be wrong, that in the heat of litigation with outstanding lawyers and executives and the egos that can come with it … when you combine that with money and power dynamics. . people can lose their concentration. “
Birotte reiterated that while people who are fighting in court are likely stressed by the situation, they can “go for a run, get on your Platoons or do yoga” to deal with this – and it’s important to realize that outside the courtroom, people’s livelihoods are at stake.
He also continued to push lawyers, Jeffrey Kessler for WME and Stacey Leyton for WGA, on what exactly was delaying a settlement.
What WME wants is to be able to end its divestments within the same timeframe as the elimination of packaging (deadline of June 2022) and to show grandfather in existing projects. There is also the impression that the monitoring, enforcement and sanctioning provisions that are being requested are unfair to the agreements the guild has made with other agencies. Meanwhile, WGA says the CAA deal includes similar provisions, and extending the divestment deadline and creating exceptions for so many projects would contribute to a more confrontational representation.
Leyton, who noted she was not a party to the settlement talks, said there had been “back and forth” between WME and WGA since the announcement of the deal with the CAA. She also said, however, that WME did not come up with a specific proposal or provide the information requested by the guild in October.
Regarding the jurisdictional issues raised by the WGA, much of the discussion centered on whether this was really a labor dispute and therefore subject to the Norris-La Guardia Act. Kessler argued that the NLGA does not apply and, if so, that the dispute falls under section 107 of the law which would allow Birotte to issue an injunction. Leyton argues that section 107 is limited to specific wrongful acts such as violence and fraud and therefore Birotte must comply with section 104, which would prevent him from issuing an injunction.
The parties also dispute whether WME suffers the required irreparable harm. Kessler argued that the agency has already lost more than a thousand clients, of which around 300 are showrunners, and that young agents are starting to leave to work for competitors. Leyton argued that the harm is not admissible because nothing would prevent these customers from returning if and when they strike a deal and the boycott ends – and said if Birotte issues an injunction it will destroy all progress. made towards a resolution because WME would not. I have no incentive to settle down.
Birotte finally got hold of the case and reminded them to think about what he said at the start of the hearing: “Find a way to try to solve this problem. Real people pay a price during this conflict. … people need and want you all to try to solve this problem.
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