US: Endeavor seeks dismissal of Writers Guild antitrust suit

William Morris Endeavor Entertainment has filed a motion to dismiss the Writers Guild of America’s (WGA) counterclaims in a federal antitrust lawsuit in which the guild is asking the court to declare that agency packaging fees are illegal, reported Deadline. 

The WGA East and West and several writers sued the Big 4 talent agencies in April, but last month the WGA withdrew its claims and refiled them in federal court. WME, CAA, UTA, and ICM Partners filed their own federal antitrust suits against the guild in June, claiming the WGA is engaging in an “unlawful group boycott.”

It its latest motion, WME notes that the guilds and writer Meredith Stiehm, a former WME client, first sued WME five months ago. “They have spent the time since dodging judicial scrutiny of their legally baseless state law claims. Now, Counterclaimants have channeled the creative talents of the Hollywood writers they represent and asserted antitrust and RICO conspiracy theories against WME. But plausibility is required to state a viable claim in federal court.”

Full Content: Deadline, PMC Deadline

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