AEA & Plaintiffs in Asner vs. Actors' Equity Association Will Resume Talks Towards Resolution

Actors' Equity Association and the plaintiffs in the Asner vs. Actors' Equity litigation announced today that they commenced discussions concerning a possible resolution; they did not reach agreement in their initial meetings.

Both parties agreed to continue discussions in the near future. In December 2015, Equity agreed to extend the use of the Transitional 99 Seat Code for a period of time commensurate with the duration of the continuing discussions. That extension agreement continues in effect. While the discussions are ongoing, the plaintiffs will not serve the complaint in the Asner litigation. Additional details of the extension agreement and the continuing dialogue are confidential.

It is the parties' desire to conduct these ongoing discussions in a confidential manner, and they have agreed to a media blackout while talks continue.

The lawsuit was filed October 19th in the Los Angeles federal court. The plaintiffs are Los Angeles-based members of Equity, together with other theatrical artists and theater operators who had entered into a litigation Settlement Agreement with the Union in 1989 that established a system for regulating future changes to the Equity Waiver program.

The lawsuit alleges that the stage actors' union violated this Settlement Agreement by improperly interfering with the democratic and due process procedures established in the Agreement to prevent any unilateral Union decision to eliminate the world of intimate theater. The lawsuit complains that Equity's new rules, including a prohibition on volunteer acting at small theaters and a new wage compensation obligation on these theaters, will force theaters to close, reduce their production runs, or to hire non-union volunteer actors in place of Union actors.

Plaintiffs are represented by the Law Offices of Steven J. Kaplan and Martha Doty of Alston & Bird.

To read the full complaint, click here.