WGA Turkey-Slapped By DOJ In WME, CAA and UTA Suits Against Guild
By Doninic Patten Deadline November 26, 2019 4:21pm
The Writers Guild of America just got possibly the worst Thanksgiving guest ever in its ongoing anti-trust lawsuits with WME, CAA, and UTA
In an unexpected brief from the Department of Justice, the federal government today urged the courts to reject the WGA’s attempts to have the Big 4 agencies’ individual lawsuits against the guild dismissed.
“The United States urges this Court to reject defendants’ argument that it can apply the labor exemptions from the antitrust laws in this case on the pleadings,” reads the 25-page brief submitted by DOJ (read it here). https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/doj-re-wme-wga-wm.pdf
“Development of a factual record is necessary to ensure that both the federal antitrust laws and the labor exemptions from the antitrust laws are given their proper scope, and that the fundamental national values protecting competition embodied in the federal antitrust laws are not displaced improperly.
At least the WGA can take some solace in the kicker from the DOJ: “The United States takes no position on the merits of this case.”
The individual lawsuits that the agencies have filed against the guild are scheduled for their next court appearance on December 6 — under what now might be very different circumstances.
Attempts to reach the WGA for comment on the DOJ’s intervention today were unsuccessful. We will update the story with the guild’s response if and when we get one.
Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.
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Hmmm…looks like so far the Gobblers are winning this one!
Arl
The Ol’ SAG Watchdog
*Headline photo was featured in Mr. Patten’s Deadline article