JUDGE OVERTURNS RULING ON USE OF ACTOR’S SCENE

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has overturned a small-claims court decision that would have forced CBS Inc. to pay character actor Sonny Landham $506 for his work in scenes that were clipped from the movie “48 HRS.” and used to dramatize a segment of a May 6 news show on KCBS-TV.

Judge Leonard S. Wolf, who presided over the Nov. 8 appeals trial, ruled that CBS’ right to use the film clips from the movie “48 HRS.” as part of a feature on violence on television is protected by the First Amendment.

At the same time, Wolf ruled against CBS’ argument that Landham be compelled to submit his complaint to arbitration with the Screen Actors Guild. Landham argued that KCBS-TV was not a signatory to the SAG contract.

It was revealed in court that there is no signed contract between SAG and the Alliance for Motion Picture and Television Producers, the group that represents TV networks and movie studios, and that there hasn’t been one since 1977.

In his decision Tuesday, Wolf acknowledged that oral collective-bargaining agreements have been held valid under the National Labor Relations Act, but questioned whether those precedents supersede a California law that specifically requires arbitration agreements to be in writing.