... If The Walt Disney Company and DreamWorks Animation get their way in a new move made on Thursday, workers who have been denied better job opportunities because of long-ago collusive behavior could find it more difficult to organize a class action antitrust lawsuit.
The companies as well as their subsidiaries are presently facing legal action over agreements made with each other not to poach workers in the animation industry. These pacts were six years ago the subject of a Justice Department investigation, a settlement with the government and many follow-up civil lawsuits. Late last month, U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh agreed to certify a class action (with some caveats) over antitrust claims between 2004 and 2010 with the potential for a trial where Disney and DreamWorks could face damages in the tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. ...
Disney and DreamWorks say that "many class members here had actual knowledge of their claims years before this action was filed is no mere hypothetical, as the alleged conspiracy was openly discussed in an extraordinary record of meetings, blog posts, and emails." ...
When I was deposed by the studios on this case a while back, the lawyers on the plaintiffs' side thought the companies' lawyers were working to establish that Biz Rep Hulett (or somebody) knew about the collusion years ago. What I knew was rumors, innuendos and speculation a short time before the case got underway.
If some studios are now settling (and some are), then there must be some feeling of impending jeopardy among our fine, entertainment conglomerates, no?
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2 comments:
Steve, if it is proven in court that Warners, Disney, Dreamworks, etc., colluded to suppress wages, and these companies are found guilty and are then court-ordered to pay damages in the millions in this class action lawsuit -- who receives these payments of millions in damages?
Employees who were part of the class that wins the lawsuit.
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