The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan has rejected an appeal by Tony Award-winning producer Garth Drabinsky in a $50 million lawsuit claiming the Actors’ Equity Association, a union for actors and stage managers, blocked him from producing live Broadway shows.
The court ruled that Mr. Drabinsky, known for producing the Broadway show “Fosse,” could not continue with his $50 million lawsuit, which claimed the union violated antitrust and various state laws, including defamation. In the decision, the U.
S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed Mr. Drabinsky’s antitrust claims, citing the statutory labor exemption from the Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 and the Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932.
Mr. Drabinsky’s tort claims were also rejected, referencing the precedent set by Martin v. Curran, a New York state case that requires plaintiffs to prove individual liability for each union member to hold the union accountable, according to the court documents.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
The appellate court emphasized that the burden falls on antitrust plaintiffs to demonstrate that the statutory labor exemption does not apply. In Mr. Drabinsky’s case, the court found he failed to do so, noting the union was acting in its self-interest and had not collaborated with non-labor groups.
Additionally, the court concurred that Mr. Drabinsky’s state-law tort claims were barred by the Martin v.
