US: Non-poaching scandal spreads to Sony, Disney

A former DreamWorks Animation artist has filed a class action lawsuit against DreamWorks Animation, Disney, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Lucasfilm and others accusing the companies of colluding to not hire each others’ employees to keep wages down, say reports. The case follows just months after several major Silicon Valley tech companies, including Google, Apple and Pixar, were accused of similar anticompetitive conduct.

US District Judge Lucy Koh has presided over the class action suit against those firms since the US Department of Justice opened a case into the matter in 2010, which was soon followed by a class action. Judge Koh recently rejected a settlement proposed by Google, Apple and Intuit for $325 million, criticizing the offer as too low.

Now, Judge Koh will reportedly reside over the most recent non-poaching class action suit. Plaintiffs in the case are seeking relief, including compensatory damages that could potentially be trebled under antitrust law, reports say.

Full content: Animation Magazine

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