A California appellate court overturned a trial judge who had denied Disney's motion to strike the claims by the wife of Village People frontman Victor Willis.
(CN) -- Walt Disney Co. was given another opportunity to beat the lawsuit by the wife of Village People frontman Victor Willis, who claims the media company has banned a reincarnation of the 1970s disco act from performing at its theme parks.
A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeals in San Diego agreed with Disney that its decisions about which acts to book at its venues, as well as its discussions with the Village People's agents, qualified as protected activity under the state's anti-SLAPP statute, which is a law aimed at protecting defendants against meritless lawsuits that infringe on their free speech rights.
"Disney's selection of musical acts is within the scope of conduct protected by the catchall provision of the anti-SLAPP statute," Presiding Justice Judith McConnell said in the unanimous decision issued Monday. "Music is a form of expression and communication protected by the First Amendment."
The ruling doesn't mean that Disney automatically prevails on its bid to strike the claims by Karen Willis. The appellate panel sent the case back to the trial judge to decide whether the claims have at least minimum merit to survive Disney's anti-SLAPP motion.
An attorney for Karen Willis didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
California's anti-SLAPP law -- an acronym for strategic lawsuit against public participation -- offers a relatively quick way for a defendant to defeat a lawsuit that they believe is meant to stifle their First Amendment rights. Once a defendant has convinced the judge that the claims impact their constitutional rights, the plaintiff is required to show the claims have enough merit to overcome this obstacle.
Karen Willis accuses Disney of imposing a secret ban on booking the Village People after two performances at Walt Disney World in Florida in May 2018.
Victor Willis had been the lead singer of the group during their heyday in the 1970s when he performed dressed up as a policeman or Navy officer. Before 2017, a version of the Village People that included some of the original members but not Victor Willis had been preforming at Disney's theme parks.
However, Victor Willis regained the Village People trademark per a 2017 settlement and formed a new reincarnation of the group that excluded the members who had performed under the Village People moniker previously. Victor Willis' latest version of the act performed two shows at Walt Disney World in 2018.
Karen Willis claims that members of the previous version of the Village People, referred to as Sixuvus, were aggrieved by their effective expulsion from the act and urged their fans to boycott the performances and to complain about them to Disney.
Afterward, she sent a notice of intent to sue unless Disney invited the band back for a "do over performance."
She accused Disney of failing to prevent Sixuvus members and fans from harassing the Village People, failing to assign proper security to Willis and the Village People and intentionally paying the band with a check made payable to Sixuvus, which temporarily delayed the Village People's payment.
It wasn't until 2023 that she filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in San Diego County against Disney over violations of the state's Unfair Competition Law and fraud related to statements to the band's agents about the possibility of hiring the band for future concerts.