In the Matter of the Arbitration between Directors Guild of America, Inc. and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. Relating to “Deceptions”

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (Columbia) (defendant) filmed and produced the motion picture Deceptions in England. After the original director was fired, Columbia negotiated with Robert Chenault, a member of the Directors Guild of America (DGA) (plaintiff), to take over directing. Chenault was already in England working with Columbia as a post-production producer for the film Jenny’s War. Columbia had hired Chenault in the United States to work on Jenny’s War and then transported Chenault to London. Chenault agreed to direct Deceptions following a series of negotiations between the DGA, Columbia, and Chenault’s agent. Although certain conversations took place in the United States, the formal negotiations were carried out and successfully completed in England. Chenault completed work on Deceptions and sought compensation pursuant to the pay rate terms in the DGA’s Basic Agreement (BA), the collective-bargaining agreement governing the terms of employment between DGA members and signatory employers, like Columbia. Columbia refused, and the DGA brought an arbitration against Columbia on Chenault’s behalf. Columbia challenged, arguing that because Deceptions was produced in England and Chenault was hired in England, Chenault’s employment was outside the geographical scope of the BA. The BA generally applied only within the United States, subject to limited exceptions that Columbia asserted did not apply to Chenault. The DGA countered, arguing that the BA was applicable because (1) the negotiations for Chenault’s employment partially occurred in the United States and (2) Chenault was located in London only because he had been transported there by Columbia to work on Jenny’s War.