The judge tosses the lawsuit because the plaintiffs, who accused the show's producers of using their criminal past to eliminate them from the competition, waited too long to file their cases.
- Nov 21, 2014
AceShowbiz - FOX has scored a win in a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by 10 former "American Idol" contestants in July 2013. A judge ruled in favor of the network and the show's producers as well as former executive producers Nigel Lythgoe because the eliminated contestants waited too long to file their cases.
"Here, each plaintiff's claims run from the date of his disqualification, as the adverse and allegedly discriminatory act of disqualification or elimination from competition is sufficient to put a contestant on notice that he should 'protect himself by seeking legal advice' and therefore to trigger the statute of limitations," U.S District Judge Naomi Buchwald wrote in her ruling.
"Plaintiffs' claims are time-barred because plaintiffs were disqualified on or before February 16, 2010, more than three years before the filing of the complaint," the NY-based judge added.
Of all 10 plaintiffs, only 1, Chris Golightly from season 9, filed the case in time. His case, however, was also dismissed after "Idol" proved that the reason he was dumped from the competition is he was already a pro, which violated the show's rule.
"While the complaint asserts that defendants disqualified Golightly because he was an African-American man with a criminal record, it offers no facts beyond this bare allegation of racism to show that either Golightly's race or his criminal record motivated his disqualification," Buchwald explained. "Rather, the complaint provides a clear motive for Golightly's disqualification that does not turn on racial animus: Golightly's participation in a preexisting music group."
In their complaints, Corey Clark (season 2), Jaered Andrews (season 2), Jacob John Smalley (season 2), Donnie Williams (season 3), Terrell Brittenum (season 5), Derrell Brittenum (season 5), Thomas Daniels (season 6), Akron Watson (season 6), Ju'Not Joyner (season 8) and Chris Golightly claimed "Idol" producers used old criminal records of African American contestants to justify eliminating them from the show.
