2008-08-19 23:43:03 -

- Sprenger + Lang Steve Sprenger, 202-772-1160 or Paul Sprenger, 202-518-2021 or 202-363-6025 The California Court of Appeal cleared the way last week for plaintiffs to begin prosecution in earnest after an eight-year logjam in the television writers' age discrimination class action litigation. The ruling clarified the law concerning the rights of citizens to refuse to bear witness and, in

these cases, to refuse to be counted for statistical purposes, according to attorneys for the plaintiffs at Sprenger + Lang.

In the words of the Court of Appeal, "This is the latest, but not the last, chapter in a story that began in the year 2000, when a number of television writers filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against all the major networks, studios and talent agencies, alleging an industry-wide pattern or practice of age discrimination." The 23 class action cases are now pending in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

To prove their claims, plaintiffs need data and anecdotal facts concerning employment of television writers. A number of non-identified persons including an unknown number of TV writers objected to discovery of information concerning them. In late 2007, a judge to whom some of the 23 class action cases were assigned concluded that objectors' privacy rights outweighed plaintiffs' need for the information.

This trial court ruling would have made it impossible for plaintiffs to prove certain age discrimination claims. If allowed to stand, the decision of the court would have permitted the networks, studios and talent agencies to be removed from the cases as to those claims simply because many of the third-party witnesses possessed of information "did not want anything to do with the litigation". The third-party witnesses claimed an absolute right to refuse to be counted for purposes of a critical statistical analysis the TV writers needed to prove their class-wide claims of age discrimination.

The Court of Appeal realized that plaintiffs' rights should prevail notwithstanding the privacy concerns, writing:

The information is essential to the resolution of the writers' claims of industry-wide discrimination; it will be subject to a comprehensive protective order which all the parties agree is, and the trial court described as, "strong"; and it involves "no revelation of personal or business secrets, intimate activities, or similar private information, and threatens no under intrusion into one's personal life ...." Under these circumstances, the trial court abused its discretion in not permitting access to (the requested information).

Steven Sprenger with Sprenger + Lang in Washington, DC, lead trial counsel for the plaintiffs, said, "While we respect and have done everything possible to protect everyone's privacy interests, we must have this information to prove age discrimination by the networks, studios and talent agencies against older TV writers. Every citizen has a duty to reveal the truth in our legal system even though it may require non-parties to be counted -- especially when refusing to be involved gives a free pass to those guilty of violating our laws."

The 39 page decision can be found at: www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B203726.PDF

Note: There was a $4.5 million class action settlement in the ICM case, one of the 23 TV writers cases, filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court. For more information, please contact Jamie Diaferia at jdiaferia@infinitepr.com or at (212) 687-0935.

Sprenger + Lang PLLC, with offices in Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., has obtained the country's largest age discrimination judgments on behalf of thousands of older workers as well as classes of tens of thousands of women and minority discrimination victims. Sprenger & Lang has successfully represented classes of plaintiffs against companies such as Morgan Stanley, CBS, C.H. Robinson, New York Life, Northwest Airlines, First Union Bank, Burlington Northern Railroad, Amtrak and Ceridian Corporation. The firm is featured in the book Class Action, the trial transcript based story behind the eleven year landmark sexual harassment class action which was the basis for the 2005 academy award nominated Warner Brothers movie North Country. More information is available on the firm website, www.sprengerlang.com.

Landmark Decision Sets Forth Principles Under Which Third Parties
with Evidence Cannot Simply Decide "Not to Become Involved" as a
"Privacy" Right