California Employment Lawyers Blog

Vincent Howard has been watching a new development on Los Angeles, California employment law horizon that stole the headlines this week, after the cast of "Modern Family," one of the most popular comedies on television, sued the show's producer Twentieth Century Fox Television in order to invalidate their current contracts.

The Hollywood lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles this week by five of the hit television show cast members including Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen, Sofia Vergara, and Eric Stonestreet, who are all seeking to cancel their current contracts before the show's forth season.

The actors claim in their lawsuit that their agreements violate a California labor code, the "7th Year Rule," which states that personal service contracts lasting over seven years are not enforceable. The Hollywood Reporter (THR), reports this tactic is a common one for actors who seek to void contracts while renegotiating for an increase in compensation.

The actors also state in the Hollywood labor and employment lawsuit, that their contract keeps them from seeking acting opportunities outside the show without the consent of Fox--restricting the possibility for additional employment.

Continue reading "Actors from "Modern Family" Sue 20th Century Fox Over Contracts" »

In recent Los Angeles, California labor and employment news that Vincent Howard has been following, rock star and performer Courtney Love was sued earlier this month by a former assistant, for wage and hour violations, wrongful termination, and breach of contract, among other labor and employment violation allegations.

The lawsuit was filed by Love's former administrative assistant, Jessica Labrie, who accuses Love of failing to pay proper wages and overtime compensation, wrongful termination, breach of contract, and making unethical employment requests.

Labrie claims that after assisting Love from 2010 until 2011, she was fired for complaining that she was owed thousands of dollars in unpaid wages after working over 60 hours per week without receiving overtime.

Labrie also accuses Love of asking her to hire a hacker to change records to businesses that she reportedly owned, and asking her to falsify fake legal documents--but Labrie claims she refused to act accordingly. She claims in her wrongful termination and wage and hour lawsuit that the job caused her insomnia, anxiety, depression and headaches. She is seeking unspecified damages for failure to pay proper wages and overtime, breach of contract, wrongful termination, negligent misrepresentation, and intentionally causing emotional distress.

Continue reading "Courtney Love Sued for Wage and Hour Violations, Wrongful Termination" »

Last month, Vincent Howard discussed a Los Angeles employment lawsuit in our Carson, California employment attorneys blog, where a Los Angeles judge ruled that five former actors from "Happy Days," the hit television show, can argue their right to receive royalties from the use of their images in merchandising before a jury this month--after CBS and Paramount Pictures Studios tried to have the claims dismissed, arguing that the actors were fairly paid.

In an interesting development this week, CBS reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit, shortly before a trial was scheduled to begin. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the five "Happy Days" actors will each receive around $65,000 in the settlement, and will receive royalties in the future.

As Vincent Howard reported previously in Howard Law's Costa Mesa employment attorney blog, the former "Happy Days" actors who filed the lawsuit are Marion Ross, Anson Williams, Don Most, Tom Bosley's widow, Patricia Bosley. The lawsuit claimed that the cast members were never compensated for many years of home video and DVD releases, as well as licensed products and merchandising that used their voices and images during the show's run and for many years after, when the show was in syndication.

The television stars' lawsuit originally sought $10 million dollars, accusing CBS and Paramount of fraud, breach of contract, concealment, and bad business practices among other charges that all related to the royalties that the cast members felt they were owed. According to the lawsuit, although the actors all received different salary amounts on the television show, they had the same contracts in terms of "Happy Days" merchandising, which allegedly stated that if any images were used of them in a group, every actor should receive a certain percentage of the proceeds.

Continue reading ""Happy Days" Cast Members To Receive $345K in Royalties Lawsuit Settlement" »

Howard Law's Costa Mesa-based labor and employment lawyer Vincent Howard has been following the latest development in the unusual Los Angeles, California employment lawsuit involving Leighton Meester, the actress well known for her role on 'Gossip Girl,' the popular television series, and her mother.

According to recent news, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gregory Alacron ruled last week in favor of the "Gossip Girl" star, after the television actress sued her mother in July of last year, claiming that she misspent the money the Leighton sent on a monthly basis in order to provide for her little brother's health treatments. Leighton claims that instead, her mother, Constance Meester, paid for personal treatments like Botox, hair extensions and plastic surgery.

Vincent Howard reported on this Hollywood lawsuit in our Carson employment attorneys blog last year, after Meester's mother filed a breach of contract counter-lawsuit against Leighton alleging that Leighton had breached various contractual agreements, that totaled around $3 million. Constance stated that that she was taken advantage of and that Leighton breach several support, management, and settlement agreements --all of which Leighton claimed were non-existent. Constance later dropped the lawsuit.

Leighton claimed in her lawsuit that there was no contract in place obligating her to send her mother $7,500 each month, but that she only wanted to take care of her brother after he underwent brain surgery last year-- even though Constance insisted that her daughter agreed to pay her $10,000 every month for the entirety of her life.

Continue reading "'Gossip Girl' Television Star Leighton Meester Wins Suit Against Mother" »

In a recent Hollywood employment lawsuit development, a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge has ruled that several former members of the famous television show "Happy Days" can argue their right to receive royalties from the hit series in front of a jury in July--after Paramount Pictures and CBS Studios sought to have the claims dismissed, claiming that the group was fairly paid.

Vincent Howard previously discussed this lawsuit in an Orange County employment lawyers blog, that was filed by several of the former cast members in April of last year. The lawsuit claimed that the actors were never compensated for years of DVD and home video releases, as well as licensed show merchandising and products that contained their images and voices throughout the show's run, and for years after, in television syndication.

The television stars initially sued CBS for $10 million, and accused Paramount and CBS of fraud, concealment, conversion, bad business practices and breach of contract. The fraud, concealment, and conversion accusations were thrown out by the judge in October, leaving the actors to continue on with the breach of contract claims.

The actors involved in the lawsuit include Marion Ross, Don Most, Erin Moran, Anson Williams and the widow of Tom Bosley. As Vincent Howard previously reported, according to the lawsuit, although the actors all had different salaries, they had the same contracts in regard to the television show's merchandising--which stated that if images of them were used in a group, each actor should receive a percentage of the net proceeds.

Continue reading "'Happy Days' Television Show Actors May Be Entitled to Unpaid DVD Royalties" »

In this month's Costa Mesa, California employment lawyers newsletter, Howard Law attorney Vincent Howard reviewed key California and federal labor and employment law developments from 2011--hot topics that our Riverside, California employment lawyers blog covered over the course last year, including GINA's final regulations, the Supreme Court's ruling in the Walmart v. Dukes sex-discrimination lawsuit, and Charlie Sheen's wrongful termination lawsuit against Warner Brothers and Chuck Lorre, among others.

GINA's Final Regulations Take Effect
After the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted unanimously in late 2010, the final regulations that implement the employment provisions of GINA (Title II), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, took effect in early 2011. Title II of GINA represents the first extension of the EEOC's jurisdiction since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and makes it illegal for employers to engage in genetic testing or discriminate against employees based on genetic make-up.

Third Party Retaliation Limits Case Decided by Supreme Court
In January of last year, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thompson v. North American Stainless, a retaliation ban limits case, stating that under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a company can be sued for retaliation by terminating an employee's fiancée. The case arose after a former female engineer with North American Stainless, who was engaged to a metallurgic engineer at the company--claimed to have experienced gender-based discrimination and filed a complaint with the EEOC. The female engineer's fiancée was fired three weeks after her EEOC sex-discrimination complaint was revealed, whereupon the fiancée filed his own third-party retaliation claim. As Vincent Howard reported in our California employment attorney blog, the highest court decided that third-party victims of retaliation are covered by federal protections.

Charlie Sheen Sues for Millions
One of the highest-profile employment lawsuits from 2011 that garnered massive media attention was filed by Hollywood actor Charlie Sheen in March, who sued Warner Brothers Studio and Chuck Lorre, the executive producer of Two and a Half Men, in a $100 million dollars lawsuit--for wrongful termination, breach of contract, retaliation and other Los Angeles, California labor and employment charges. Sheen's contract was reportedly terminated for health issues that allegedly led to his inability to perform his duties for the television show, for public tirades against Lorre, and for alleged substance abuse and destructive behavior. Sheen and Warner Brothers reportedly finalized a multi-million dollar settlement in September.

Continue reading "2011 Labor and Employment Law in Review: GINA, Charlie Sheen, Walmart v. Dukes" »

Legendary Los Angeles Lakers superstar Shaquille O'Neal has filed an employment lawsuit this month against a former information technology employee, for invasion of privacy and allegedly selling his personal emails on the open market--and therefore damaging his reputation.

According to the lawsuit, that our Santa Ana employment lawyers have been following, O'Neal hired Shawn Darling in 2007 and paid him around $150 per hour as an Information Technology specialist, to set up his audio and computer systems, keep his electronic communications, and to create and register a personal domain name for the former NBA player. O'Neal claims that he hired the man unaware of the fact that he had been convicted of a bank fraud felony.

While performing his tasks, Darling reportedly requested and got all of O'Neal's passwords, which he allegedly used outside of his job, in order to access Shaq's personal emails. Darling is being accused of selling O'Neal's personal information to other people as well as Internet sites, which then published articles that reportedly damaged Shaq's reputation.

In August of 2010, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Darling's attorney threatened O'Neal, with the continued use of the electronic email communications if he didn't fork over $12 million--to which Shaq reportedly refused. Darling then filed a lawsuit against O'Neal, accusing him of being the computer hacker--by hacking into voicemails, trying to frame Darling for a criminal offense, and trying to erase digital evidence of affairs.

Continue reading "Former NBA Superstar Shaq Sues Former Employee Over Stolen Emails" »

In a recent Hollywood employment lawsuit development that our Irvine, California labor and employment attorneys have been watching, cast members from the legendary television show "Happy Days" have suffered a reported setback in their current $10 million lawsuit against CBS/Paramount over merchandising revenue from the comedy sitcom.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the cast sued CBS in April of this year, claiming that they were never paid for years of home video releases and licensed show merchandising that used their images and voices --during the run of the series, that lasted from 1974 until 1984 and has continued to run for years in television syndication. They are accusing CBS/Paramount of bad business practices and breach of contract.

The lawsuit claims that although they all received different salaries, they had the same contracts in regard to merchandising--each actor was to receive a percentage of the net proceeds if images of them were used in a group, after the studio took its handling fee, which was a reported 50% off the top.

The employment lawsuit reportedly began after an actor from the show saw their images on a casino's slot machines. The same actor had also noticed that starting in 2004, the show had been repackaged into four different DVD box sets with pictures of the cast on the boxes and inside the DVD material. The lawsuit is accusing CBS/Paramount of continuing to market the brand to merchandisers, selling everything from t-shirts to coffee mugs with cast pictures, with never intending to pay them for merchandise with their images.

Continue reading "'Happy Days' Television Stars Sue CBS/Paramount for $10 Million" »

In a recent Los Angeles, California employment lawyers blog, our attorneys discussed the Los Angeles employment lawsuit filed by television and movie star Charlie Sheen against Warner Brothers Studio and Chuck Lorre, the Executive Producer of the popular television series Two and a Half Men, that featured Sheen as a central character until this spring.

According to news reports from last week, Sheen and Warner Brothers are finalizing the multimillion-dollar settlement that will end the very public battle that has continued over the past few months--after Sheen hurled public insults against Lorre for being fired from the show, leading to the cancellation of Two and a Half Men for the rest of the season.

Warner Brothers stated that Sheen's contract was terminated after health issues led to his inability to perform his duties as a performer for the show. He was reportedly fired in March for his failure to report to set and perform due to drug usage, for trashing a hotel room, and for his public statements against Chuck Lorre.

Sheen sued Warner Brothers and Lorre in March of this year, claiming that his television contract termination came from Lorre in order to serve Lorre's self-interest and ego--and accused Lorre of breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, retaliation and other employment charges. The lawsuit asked for $100 million in punitive damages.

Continue reading "Hollywood Star Charlie Sheen and Warner Brothers Settle Multimillion Dollar Lawsuit" »

In the unusual and ongoing Hollywood employment lawsuit that our Riverside employment attorneys have been following, Leighton Meester, the star of the hit television show Gossip Girl, who recently filed a lawsuit against her mother, Constance Meeester, is trying to have her mother's $3 million breach-of-contract counter-lawsuit dismissed by a judge.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the 25-year old Gossip Girl actress reportedly sued her mother Constance in July, claiming that the money she sent her family on a monthly basis to provide for her brother's medical attention was misused by her mother. Leighton claimed in the suit that there was no contractual obligation for her to send them the $7,500 per month, but that she wanted to provide medical care for her brother after his brain surgery last May. The money was reportedly used instead to further Constance's plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures.

Constance Meester reportedly responded by filing a counter-lawsuit a few days later alleging that Leighton had breached various contract agreements totaling $3 million, and that as her manager, she sacrificed her own personal happiness to support her daughter's acting career. According to Constance's complaint, she was allegedly taken advantage of by Leighton, claiming a breach of management, support and settlement agreements--all of which Leighton claims are non-existent agreements.

Leighton reportedly states that the document evidence used in her mother's lawsuit was only an employment agreement allowing Leighton's acting services to be legitimized by her corporation, Intentional Productions, Inc. (IPC). The document states that Leighton is to be given all the income from her activities, only allowing for certain things to be deducted by the corporation, like agent commissions, manager's fees, union dues and health contributions--none of which Leighton claim provided Constance with any money, as she had no authority over the income.

Continue reading "'Gossip Girl' Star Sued By Her Mother in $3M Breach-of-Contract Lawsuit" »

Our Newport Beach, California employment lawyer blog recently discussed the long-running legal battle between California-based Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, and MGA Entertainment, a small company responsible for making the line of Bratz dolls who was accused by Mattel in 2005 of stealing a key Mattel employee and intellectual property.

In a 2008 decision, MGA was reportedly ordered to pay Mattel $100 million, but a federal appeals court threw out the ruling out last year, stating that Mattel had not proven the copyright infringement claims.

The case became more complex when MGA then accused Mattel of misappropriating trade secrets about the Bratz doll line, and in April of this year, Mattel was found guilty of stealing trade secrets by a federal jury, wherein MGA Entertainment was awarded $88.5 million in damages, with the chance of receiving more monetary damage awards.

According to the Los Angeles Times, earlier this month, a federal judge demanded that Mattel compensate MGA Entertainment over $309 million in monetary damages and other costs and fees in the ongoing legal argument over the Bratz doll line. Mattel's request for a new trial was also rejected.

The decision, made by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, awarded MGA $85 million in punitive damages, reducing the jury's original $88.5 million award in April due to a mathematical error. The judge also awarded MGA $2.5 million in lawyer's costs and fees for its claims of trade secret theft against Mattel. MGA's chief executive, Isaac Larian, was also awarded $137.4 million in attorneys' fees and costs for having to defend his company against Mattel's original claims of copyright infringement, contractual relations and other copyright allegations--bringing the total award for MGA to $309.9 million.

Continue reading "Mattel Ordered by Judge to Pay $310 Million in Bratz vs. Barbie Legal Battle" »

The multitalented entertainer, Beyoncé, was reportedly hit with a $100 million lawsuit last month, by a video game company who accused the singer and actress of destroying Christmas by breaching a contract and reneging on an agreement to develop a video game in her name last year.

According to the lawsuit, Gate Five, a software developer, is suing Beyoncé to cover lost investments after the star reportedly pulled out of an agreement in December of 2010 to create a dance video game entitled, "Starpower, Beyoncé." The lawsuit claimed that after Beyoncé had already negotiated a hefty compensation deal in her contract, she demanded entirely new compensation terms at a crucial moment in the game's development--the week before Christmas.

The lawsuit accuses the star of a bad faith breach of contract that destroyed the company's business and caused 70 employees to lose their jobs just before the holidays. The summons also reportedly claims that Beyoncé's demands were so outrageous that her father and then-manager Matthew Knowles, renounced them. Beyoncé has reportedly recently ended her managerial relationship with her father.

Our attorneys based in Orange County, California represent individuals with labor or employment issues. Contact us today for a free consultation about your California employment rights.

Continue reading "Beyoncé Sued for $100M by Video Game Company" »

Actor Charlie Sheen continued to make Hollywood headlines this week by filing a Los Angeles, California employment lawsuit yesterday against Warner Brothers Studio and Chuck Lorre, the executive producer of Two and a Half Men, a hugely successful television show that has starred Sheen since 2003.

Screen has held the celebrity spotlight in recent months, after rehab and hospital visits led to Two and a Half Men's hiatus in January. Last month, Warner Brothers canceled the hit television comedy for the rest of the season, reportedly after Sheen lashed out at Lorre with public verbal attacks.

According to reports that our San Bernardino County employment attorneys have been following, Sheen was fired on Monday, for committing a felony involving a "moral turpitude" which Warner Brothers claimed in a statement included trashing New York's Plaza Hotel, engaging in cocaine binges, failing to report to set and perform because drug usage, and for hurling recent public insults against the show's creator, Chuck Lorre.

Sheen claims that he has filed his employment lawsuit on behalf of the Two and a Half Men cast and crew, and is asking for $100 million in punitive damages.

The lawsuit states that Sheen's contract termination came from Lorre, in order to serve Lorre's ego and self-interest, making Sheen the scapegoat for his own conduct--taking money away from the dedicated cast and crew of the show by canceling the production. The lawsuit also accuses Warner Brothers and Lorre of breaching his contract, retaliation, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, among other employment charges.

Continue reading "Hollywood Actor Charlie Sheen Slaps Warner Bros. with $100M Lawsuit for Contract Termination" »

In a related blog, our Carson labor and employment attorneys discussed recent wage and hour legislature introduced by Congressman Phil Hare, called the Wage Theft Prevention and Community Partnership Act, aimed to fight the occurrence of wage theft in the workplace--where employees are being robbed of their hard earned wages by not being paid properly for their work.

In the State of California, Governor Schwarzenegger recently vetoed two bills that aimed to fight employers from engaging in wage theft. According to the Los Angeles Times, the first wage theft measure, supported by the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, would have penalized employers who neglect to pay workers all of their wages within 90 days after their employment ends, with a new misdemeanor crime. The second wage theft bill would have reportedly increased the maximum damage amount that an employee could receive in a wage-type legal issue or state enforcement action.

The bills were reportedly introduced after a UCLA study, that our Santa Ana labor and employment attorneys discussed in a recent blog, found that wage theft costs workers in Los Angeles County around $26 million every week. The groundbreaking study, released last year, found that workers in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, experienced massive wage and hour law violations in low-wage industries. The UCLA study found that 15% of low-income worker's wages are taken from the workers each week.

Mark Schacht, the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation's deputy director, stated that Schwarzenegger and his Chamber of Commerce allies know that these vetoes continue to defend the illegal practice of wage theft in California. In his messages about the vetoes, Schwarzenegger reportedly claimed that both bills were not needed.

Continue reading "Schwarzenegger Vetoes Two California Wage Theft Bills" »

In recent national news that our Southern California Employment Attorneys have been following, Lady Gaga, the hugely popular pop star, is being sued by her former business partner and ex-boyfriend, the songwriter and music producer Rob Fusari, for breach of contract and failure to pay royalties that he is allegedly owed.

Lady Gaga, also known as Stefani Germanotta, met Fusari in March 2006. Fusari claims in his lawsuit that he discovered Germanotta while looking for a strong female pop singer, and then proceeded to co-wrote songs with her, create her new look and help her get a record deal at Interscope--reshaping her career and even giving her the name Lady Gaga.

In the over $30 million lawsuit, Fusari claims that the Grammy award winning Gaga forced him out of her career while continuing her meteoric rise to record breaking success. The lawsuit claims that Fusari is owed royalties for creating the Lady Gaga moniker, and for co-writing songs on the popular album "The Fame." Fusari also accuses Gaga of breaching the contract that they agreed upon in 2006.

Lady Gaga responded to Fusari, by filing a countersuit, claiming that the 2006 contract she signed was illegal because it was created in manner that concealed its real purpose, which as her lawyer reportedly said, provided the defendants compensation that was unlawful for services rendered as employment agents who were unlicensed. She claims the contract was financially abusive and that Fusari took advantage of her inexperience of a fledgling pop star.

Continue reading "Lady Gaga Slapped with Breach of Contract Lawsuit and Fights Back" »