Judge OKs Bigger Lawsuit Over Fox's Intern Programs

Suit expands from interns who worked on Fox Searchlight's "Black Swan" to class action that possibly targets all Fox internship programs.

A New York federal judge is allowing a class-action lawsuit targeting internship programs at Fox Entertainment Group to grow.


Fox resisted the plaintiffs' attempts to file an amended lawsuit that would subject it to inquiries into internship programs at its various divisions as well as corporate interns. The entertainment giant argued that a judge should reject the motion.

At a hearing on Tuesday, Judge William Pauley disagreed with the assessment and ruled that federal rules of civil procedure have liberal amendment standards. As such, he is allowing the new bigger lawsuit with some caveats.

"What this means as a practical matter is that the scope of the putative class is much larger," says Elizabeth Wagoner, one of the attorneys representing the interns. "The lawsuit will not only cover Fox Searchlight, but all interns covered by the hiring practices (that led to the named plaintiffs' being interns)."

Wagoner adds that she isn't sure which specific entities at Fox will be targeted for their internship programs. It will depend on what comes out in further discovery. The plaintiffs are targeting specific hiring practices that led to interns being hired to work without pay, even though they were required to fill out I-9 forms, sign confidentiality agreements and were deemed "employees" covered under workers' compensation laws. Wagoner says that the judge ordered Fox to turn over more information.

An amended complaint will be filed by the end of next week. Discovery is now scheduled to be completed by the second week of December. Oral arguments on summary judgment motions have been tentatively scheduled for next April.

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