Page 80 - RICHERT VS. SORKIN THEFT OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT AND THE WEST WING

arbilration,rl not fot lawsuits [see Ait 11.A]. The scope of the grievance and arbitration procedure is dcscribed in Article 10.A, entitled "Matters Subject to Grievance and Arbitration (General)," and encompassos reaches of the MBA (Articles 10.A 1 and .2) and cefiain violations ofwriters' individual employment contracts (Article 10 A-3). The cause ofaction before the Court is not a claim for breach of thc MBA brcught in arbitration by a patty to the labor contract, but a claimed violation of the DFR actionable in district court. The DFR claim is sfalutory in nature and subject to the six-month limitations period prescribed by federal law. DelCostello v' In 'l Blotherhood ofTeamslers, 462 U.S. 151, 154-55 (1983)
F'urther, even assuming for the sake ofargument the MBA's time limits did apply, plaintiffs fi]ed their claim too late. M BA Article 11..4..2 €stablishes alternative time limits:
(1)18 months from when the complaining party "obtained knowlcdge of the facts" on which a claim involving a theatrical motion picture is based; or (2) in no event later thau foul years from the "occurence ofthe facts" irrcspective of knowledge lsee Art. 11.A.2.(a) and (b)]. Even under the four-year limit, plaintiffs' claims about the 1995 credit arbitration would be barred.
n. /ACOB.! v. CBS IS INAPPOSITE.
At several points in their opposition, plaintiffs cite a recent Ninth Circuit case,./dcobs v. CBS Broadcasting, Inc., 241 F.3d 11'B er' Cit.2IO2). They insinuate, wifhout any real analysis, that the decision disapproves ofthe Guild's credit arbitration procedure [see Opp. at 6, 8, 181. We briefly explain why this is not so.
The Guild was not a party to the./acobs litigation. "/dcob.s was a diversity action, decided under California law, involving a dispute between television produccrs and a tclevision nelwork, CBS, over whether a television series was based on certain wdtten material. 1d. at 1 175. The Cuild had previously conducted a credit arbitration for the series and determined that the writer