Appeals court shoots down Rosenberg's SAG fight

By Matthew Belloni

California's court of appeal has denied former SAG president Alan Rosenberg's latest effort to overturn moves by the guild to abolish its negotiating committee and fire former executive director Doug Allen.

Here's the 21-page opinion of the three-judge panel, issued today. The panel ruled the appeal had been rendered "moot" by later moves SAG made, including firing Allen a second time.

Rosenberg, along with allies Anne-Marie Johnson, Diane Ladd and Kent McCord, brought the case against SAG claiming its 41-member board had concocted a bogus "written assent" excuse to sack Allen after Rosenberg had led a filibuster attempt at a January board meeting. Superior Court Judge James Chalfant denied Rosenberg's initial request for a temporary restraining order against the guild, so Rosenberg appealed. 

Now he's lost again, with the appeals panel ruling that "the appeal has been rendered moot by the decision of the majority of the board on Feb. 9 to ratify and readopt the provisions of the written assent and by the subsequent decision by SAG members to accept the contract negotiated pursuant to the board's Feb. 9 vote," according to the opinion.

SAG was also awarded its costs. The guild was repped by Daniel Alberstone, Roland Tellis and Sara Jasper Epstein at Santa Monica's Bingham McCutchen. Eric George and Sonia Lee at LA's Browne Woods George repped Rosenberg and crew.