Cartel Suit Against Hollywood Foreign Press Association Dismissed

On Wednesday, November 25, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit that accused the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) of using its influence to control the market for overseas entertainment coverage, reported Variety.

In a ruling issued on Friday, Judge Stanley Blumenfeld tossed the lawsuit brought by Kjersti Flaa, a Norwegian reporter who alleged that she had been repeatedly denied membership because she posed a competitive threat to other Scandinavian members.

The HFPA has 85 members from around the world who are best known for voting on the Golden Globe Awards. According to the lawsuit, filed in August, the members are treated to exclusive access to stars and press junkets, and wield their power to freeze out non-members, effectively operating as an illegal cartel.

The lawsuit also alleged that the HFPA violated state and federal antitrust law by inhibiting competition among foreign journalists. Flaa alleged that existing members monopolize coverage in their designated territories, and are reluctant to admit anyone from their territory who might compete for freelance assignments. By denying her membership, she argued that the HFPA was also making it harder for her to get celebrity interviews and do her job.

The judge, however, ruled that those claims did not quite add up to a coherent antitrust complaint. Blumenfeld wrote that she had failed to properly define a “market” for entertainment journalism that HFPA could be said to monopolize. He also noted that Flaa has achieved a fair amount of success without HFPA membership.