Disney Headlines for December 17th, 2024
Over the past few days, Disney has suffered three different legal setbacks.
Even worse, that brings the total to four in a span of three weeks.
Why is Disney on a rare legal losing streak? We’ll discuss the perils of being too big to fail in the latest Disney Headlines.
Disney Racks up the Losses
Disney is currently on the kind of losing streak generally reserved for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The problems started during Thanksgiving Week, although you probably didn’t notice. That was by design.
Photo: cba.cj
Three days before Thanksgiving, while you were worrying about traveling plans and meal planning, Disney settled a lawsuit.
Here’s the quote from Reuters: “(Disney) has agreed to pay $43.3 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that its female employees in California earned $150 million less than their male counterparts over an eight-year period, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said in a statement on Monday.”
Photo: Washington Post
We covered the story here, and Justin Hermes noted the following:
“While Disney initially fiercely denied the charges, its defense increasingly relied on technicalities.”
Walt Disney Company
In other words, Disney knew it was in deep trouble and desperately tried to escape the problem via legal tricks.
Once those attempts proved fruitless, Disney accepted its fate and quietly discussed settlement options.
Photo: Miriam-Webster
Generally speaking, when the person/people suing settle for nearly one-third of their ask, that’s viewed as a huge win.
As such, Disney lost this one quite badly. However, that wasn’t Disney’s worst defeat of the month.
Disney Versus Cast Members
Walt Disney Company
No, that one came on Saturday, which is another notable timeline.
Once again, Disney tried to pick a time when people weren’t paying attention to settle another lawsuit.
Photo: Disney
This time, Disney has agreed to pay some of its Disneyland Cast Members to entice them to drop a class action lawsuit.
This is the underpaid minimum wage story that we’ve covered for a while, and I’ll level with you.
Casey’s Corner Cast Members
While I love Disney more than any other company, this particular subject made me angrier than anything else the company has done recently.
Here’s what happened, according to The Wrap:
Photo: Disney Parks Blog
“The lawsuit alleged that in 2019, Disney did not adjust wages in accordance with the passage of Measure L, an Anaheim ballot proposition that required companies that received tax rebates from the city — namely Disney — to pay at least $15/hour.”
In other words, Anaheim expected Disney to pay its employees a specific amount. Disney didn’t do that.
Photo: Moneycrashers.com
Instead, lawyers argued that the company didn’t receive tax rebates and thereby wasn’t required by law to pay more.
Ignoring for a moment the fact that Cast Members are angels on Earth and deserve every dime, it was still a cheap, bullying move.
Photo: Disney
Disney denied income to those who needed it the most, their lowest-paid workers. I find that inexcusable.
Eventually, the court system agreed, ruling in favor of the class action members.
Photo: skillastics.com
Disney actually won the first verdict, but an appellate court set aside that decision, giving the Cast Members all the negotiating power.
Now, Disney will pay $233 million as a make-good in the case.
Importantly, I should note that Disneyland agreed to pay $24 per hour in its latest union deal.
So, this story is now a non-factor moving forward. And I really hope it stays this way. I hate being mad at Disney.
Still, that’s more than $275 million Disney must spend to correct previous issues with pay equity. And that’s not great.
Disney Settles Again
Photo: Disney
I’ve stated many times that Disney doesn’t lose lawsuits often.
Part of the explanation for that statement is that Disney’s team of lawyers have achieved folklore status for their shenanigans.
Photo: Disney
Disney hires the best of the best, and they didn’t get to be that way by losing a lot.
So, most people who try to sue Disney quickly realize that they’re way out of their depth.
The Walt Disney Company
Even those who hang around often lose in the end. That’s because Disney has the deep pockets to stretch out legal proceedings.
One of the above cases demonstrates a rare example of Disney winning the first ruling, only to lose on appeal.
Almost always, the reverse happens where someone may win a court ruling against Disney.
Then, Disney’s attorneys keep suing until they find a sympathetic judge/jury/arbitrator.
Few people can afford to pay lawyers that long with little to show for it…but Disney sure can.
The other reason Disney rarely loses is that when it finds itself in trouble, it negotiates settlements instead.
The Walt Disney Company
That’s what has happened three times recently, including an example I haven’t discussed yet.
Trigger warning: it’s at least marginally political. Feel free to skip to the next section if you’re over politics right now.
Credit: Photo by Cheriss May, Sipa via AP Images
Anyway, Disney’s ABC News division just announced a legal settlement with President-Elect Donald Trump.
The terms are simple. “ABC News will donate the $15 million to Mr. Trump’s future presidential foundation and museum.”
(Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
This agreement stems from comments that ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos made about Trump in March.
Perhaps the oddest part of this story is that Disney would have performed an in-person deposition of the next President this week.
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
Instead, Disney decided the smart play here was to settle for a modest sum.
Disney Loses Yet Again
So, that’s three different settlements in three weeks, which is generally more than Disney does in a calendar year.
Then, we have yet another legal setback involving Disney.
Venu
Specifically, the seemingly cursed Venu TV app has lost in court to FuboTV once again.
I’m not saying this has become a regular thing, but if Venu TV were a pro sports team, it’d be officially eliminated from the playoffs.
Photo: Deadline
Seriously, FuboTV is David with a slingshot, and it cannot not stop cracking open the heads of the Goliaths named Fox, Disney, and WBD.
FuboTV beat the three corporate behemoths on two different rulings in federal court this past week.
Photo: Venu
The judge refused a motion by Venu TV to dismiss and then denied Fox’s request to move some of the case to a different court.
What’s happening here is the legal equivalent of your beating LeBron James in a game of pickup basketball.
Photo: Fubo
None of this should be possible, yet FuboTV remains undefeated in the current legal drama.
I said it last time, but I mean it now more than ever. Disney should just ditch this nonsense and stick with the upcoming Flagship app.
Photo: The New York Post
How ridiculous is this whole thing? FuboTV cannot even sue WBD for some of this stuff because the skinny bundle dropped WBD’s channels four years ago.
So, FuboTV is just suing Fox and Disney on some of the charges…and still winning!
Photo: kindpng.com
Friends, this past month and especially the past seven days have proven to be some of Disney’s worst legal losses of this century.
Like, you shouldn’t be surprised if Disney suddenly reshuffled some of its law firms.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
