Actors, union settle suit over foreign royalties (distribution of millions of dollars)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ANTHONY McCARTNEY

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Attorneys for the Screen Actors Guild and the actor who played Eddie Haskell on "Leave It to Beaver" have reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit over the distribution of millions of dollars in foreign royalties to actors.

Attorneys for the union and actor Ken Osmond filed the agreement for a judge's approval on Monday.

SAG has already paid out millions in royalties to the performers, but the agreement spells out how both remaining and future royalties will be distributed.

The lawsuit is the last of three cases filed against unions representing tens of thousands of actors, writers and directors over royalties that have been generated in Europe since the 1980s. The payments were created to compensate the performers for video rentals, blank media and, in some countries, cable retransmissions.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20100914/AP07/309149993

[Bossy Monkey]

1. "What a lovely robe you're wearing today, Judge West!" n/t