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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

That’s a Lovely Settlement|You’ve Got, Mrs. Cleaver

LOS ANGELES (CN) - The Screen Actors Guild has settled a class action over more than 20 years of European royalties for DVD rentals and cable shows. The lawsuit was brought in 2007 by Ken Osmond, who achieved screen immortality as Eddie Haskell on "Leave It to Beaver."

The SAG told The Associated Press it has already distributed $8.5 million to 70,000 members.

The settlement, filed by Osmond's lawyer, Neville Johnson, after years of negotiations and mediation, details the SAG's agreement to hire independent consultants to review its foreign levies program and recommend a schedule for repayment of outstanding royalties, which the AP estimated at nearly $8 milion.

The SAG also apparently agreed to conduct a yearly audit on the program and share the results with its members.

"I'm very pleased to be able to get the many tens of thousands of actors paid their share of moneys that have been held in secret since 1992," Johnson said. "We believe that the settlement will bring transparency and accountability to this union, which are the two most important components of its fiduciary duty."

A hearing on the settlement has been set for later this month, with a final hearing in November or December, according to Variety.

Entertainment media have called Osmond the driving force behind the class action.

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