Three class action lawsuits against Sony, Disney, DreamWorks and other animation studios accusing the companies of unfairly keeping wages low have been consolidated, say reports.
Three digital artists are spearheading their newly-combined lawsuit that claims the studios violated antitrust rules by forming non-poaching agreements between each other. By vowing not to hire each other’s employees, plaintiffs say, the defendants “deprived Plaintiffs and other class members of millions of dollars in compensation” despite billions of dollars in revenue made by the firms.
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.
According to reports, the amended filing reveals new details as to who, exactly, the plaintiffs are accusing of the collusion.
According to court documents, DreamWorks’ Head of Production and Technology allegedly emailed the heads of human resources at Pixar, Sony Pictures, Disney and other studios in 2009 to discuss how overtime compensation was handled.
”No studio acting in its own independent self-interest in the absence of a conspiracy to suppress compensation would share this kind of compensation information, let alone with such a large group of competitors. Such behavior only makes sense in the context of a conspiracy to suppress compensation,” the filing says.
The consolidated class action follows earlier lawsuits filed against other studios for similar non-poaching claims.
Full content: Deadline
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
T-Mobile Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Sprint Merger After Appeal Denied
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
Google Faces Backlash Over Introduction of AI-Generated Summaries in Searches
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
CMA Launches Phase 2 Probe into AlphaTheta’s Acquisition of Serato
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
NFL Executive Escapes Testifying in High-Stakes Trial Over Televised Games
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
EU Consumers Lodge Complaint Against Chinese Retailer Temu Over Content Rules Breach
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI