CAA has asked a judge to dismiss claims made against the agency by showrunners David Simon and Meredith Stiehm as part of the Writers Guild of America’s lawsuit against four Hollywood talent agencies over the issue of packaging fees.
CAA’s response to the WGA lawsuit filed in April asserts that the statute of limitations has long since run out on Simon and Stiehm’s ability to file a legal claim in relation to the dealmaking the two describe in the lawsuit. Stiehm and Simon were among eight guild members listed as plaintiffs along with the WGA in the suit.
The response, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, also asserts that there are records to show that Stiehm should have been aware of the packaging fee arrangement on her CBS drama “Cold Case.” CAA asserts that Simon waived his right to sue after reaching a $30,000 settlement with the agency over the packaging arrangement on his 1990s NBC drama “Homicide: Life on the Street.”
Related
“The only injury that Mr. Simon alleges occurred more than 19 years ago, and after discovering that injury in April 2000, Mr. Simon expressly and specifically waived and released that claim,” CAA’s answer states. “Thereafter, until the WGA ordered the mass firing of agents on April 12, 2019, Mr. Simon continuously retained his CAA agent, whom he admits has “been forthright and fair in all of my subsequent years in television.” It could not be clearer that Mr. Simon’s claims are barred for many reasons, including the doctrines of waiver and release, and the lapsing of the statutes of limitations on any possible claims that he might have with respect to ‘Homicide.’ “
The answer describes Stiehm’s claims “equally preposterous” regarding her surprise at learning about CAA’s package arrangement on the Jerry Bruckheimer TV/Warner Bros. TV series.
“She has known for decades that she was being included in television packages, and has repeatedly agreed in writing for 24 years that CAA, after helping her to secure employment on television shows, would receive prescribed packaging fees from the production studios instead of charging her any commissions,” the answer states.
CAA’s nine-page response focuses strictly on Simon and Stiehm’s claims as they relate directly to CAA. The agency said it still plans to file another response addressing the broader fraud and breach of fiduciary duty claims raised in the WGA lawsuit.
More to come