UPDATE, 1:45 PM: In a split decision of sorts, an L.A. Superior Court judge has given Disney a month to articulate why they can’t hand over dozens of requested documents in the pay equity class action.
At the end of a hearing today, Judge Elihu M. Berle indicated he agreed with the gist of the Mouse House’s assertions on protected and redacted paperwork.
This is very similar to the last time Disney faced such allegations a few years ago from the plaintiffs. However, in terms of 86 specific correspondences, primarily with outside parties, the company will have to provide justification on why it wants certain paperwork kept out of the five-year old matter. “We are pleased that the court denied the plaintiffs’ motion, just as it did the first time the plaintiffs attempted to make this groundless argument,” said a Disney spokesperson to Deadline.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers also Certified as a class action in December 2023, the gender-centric case, initiated by Disney staffers LaRonda Rasmussen and Karen Moore in mid-2019, could now include up to 12,000 employees.
Read more on deadline.com