9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacates dismissal of NCOPM lawsuit


FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
9th
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
vacates
dismissal
of
NCOPM
lawsuit
challenging
the
Calif.
Talent
Agencies
Act
Remands
case
to
determine
jurisdictional
and
standing
issues
PASADENA,
Calif.,
Mar.
19,
2015
–
The
9th
Circuit
U.
S.
Court
of
Appeals
today
vacated
a
March
2013
decision
by
U.
S.
District
Court
Judge
Dean
D.
Pregerson,
who
had
dismissed
a
lawsuit
filed
by
the
National
Conference
of
Personal
Managers
(NCOPM)
challenging
the
constitutionality
of
the
California
Talent
Agencies
Act
(TAA).
In
a
Memorandum
Disposition,
the
Ninth
Circuit
stated,
"The
district
court
found
that
(1)
the
Governor
and
Attorney
General
likely
had
sovereign
immunity,
(2)
NCOPM
likely
had
standing,
and
(3)
the
Labor
Commissioner
was
likely
the
appropriate
party
to
sue
for
her
non‐adjudicatory
acts.
However,
the
district
court
'declin[ed]
to
resolve
those
issues
fully.'"
Noting
that,
"The
Supreme
Court
has
repeatedly
stated
that
federal
courts
have
an
independent
obligation
to
determine
jurisdiction
before
addressing
the
merits
of
a
case,"
the
Court
remanded
the
case
back
to
the
District
Court
"to
determine
the
jurisdiction
and
standing
issues"
and
"make
definite
findings."
"Personal
managers
are
now
one
step
closer
to
ending
decades
of
tyranny
imposed
by
the
California
Labor
Commissioner
under
the
guise
of
an
unconstitutional
statute,"
said
NCOPM
National
President
Clinton
Ford
Billups
Jr.
NCOPM
estimates
personal
managers
have
wrongfully
lost
more
than
one‐half
billion
dollars
in
compensation
as
a
result
of
the
Labor
Commissioner's
unlawful
enforcement,
causing
bankruptcy,
divorce,
foreclosure,
suicide
and
other
tragedies
Originally
adopted
to
protect
ingenues
starting
out
in
Hollywood,
the
TAA
became
controversial
as
more
established
artists
used
the
TAA
to
terminate
their
representation
contracts
by
accusing
their
personal
manager
of
procuring
employment
without
a
talent
agency
license.
An
NCOPM
website
(www.StopTAA.org)
lists
dozens
of
celebrities
who
have
used
the
TAA.
‐MORE‐
1
9th
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
to
hear
oral
arguments
"NCOPM
looks
forward
to
returning
to
the
District
Court
to
protect
the
civil
rights
of
personal
managers
nationwide,"
said
Mr.
Billups.
The
NCOPM
lawsuit
claims
the
TAA
and
the
Labor
Commissioner’s
enforcement
violates
due
process
and
equal
protection
rights,
burdens
and
interferes
with
interstate
commerce,
impairs
the
obligations
of
personal
management
contracts,
burdens
and
restricts
commercial
speech
and
results
in
involuntary
servitude
without
claims
of
fraud,
non‐
performance
or
criminal
conduct.
A
“friend
of
the
court”
brief
filed
by
the
Music
Managers
Forum‐US
and
the
Talent
Managers
Association,
along
with
several
prominent
entertainment
attorneys
and
law
professors,
stated,
“For
decades,
the
California
Talent
Agencies
Act
and
the
California
Labor
Commissioner
have
unfairly
singled
out
personal
managers
and
deprived
them
of
their
constitutional
rights.”
Former
managers
of
Jefferson
Airplane,
The
Platters
and
The
Deftones
have
told
the
Ninth
Circuit
that
they
forfeited
millions
of
dollars
and
were
victims
of
emotional
and
financial
suffering
as
a
result
of
the
TAA.
Appellate
attorney
for
NCOPM
is
Stephen
F.
Rohde,
Esq.,
and
lead
counsel
are
Ryan
H.
Fowler,
Esq.,
Christopher
B.
Good,
Esq.,
and
William
Ferguson,
Esq.,
of
Fowler
&
Good,
LLP.
The
case
is
Nat'l
Conf.
of
Personal
Mgrs
v.
Edmund
Brown,
Jr.,
et
al,
Case
No.
13‐55545,
9th
Cir.
###
News Contact:
Clinton Ford Billups Jr.
NCOPM National President
Office: 702-837-1170
Mobile: 702-466-7319
Email: ncopm@earthlink.net
Website: www.ncopm.com
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